PLANNING INITIAL IDEAS

Using the codes of inigma and suspense. The film starts with a woman waiting in a doctors surgery, she is then called into his office where we hear a voiceover of him delivering the news that the woman cannot concieve and have children. She is devistated by this news and storms into a rage, getting up and leaving the doctors office. She then arrives home and it is shown that she is a war photographer, as there are photo's displayed all around the room and covering the table. She then focuses in on one photo in particular, of a child, she then tears it into pieces in a angry rage. It then cuts away the woman going into a cupboard and retrieving a suitcase in which there is the doll. She immediatly treats the doll as if it where living and the film then shows different scenarios involving both the woman and doll; such as them playing in the park and the woman brushing the dolls hair in the mirror. It then cuts to the woman in the park watching the children and mothers playing together. She then focuses in on one child in particular she becomes intranced by her. She then follows this child and mother home. The child is then putting her bike away in front of the house alone, and the woman is stalkerly watching from the pavement. It then cuts away to the woman grabbing the childs hand and walking off with her into the distance down the street. It then transitions into the title of our film. 

PLANNING: FEMALE WAR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Marie Colvin, Female war photographer

• There are many female war photographers, who capture iconic images of the most shocking and disturbing things.

• "Some of today’s top conflict photographers just happen to be women."- Aimee Baldridge

• Women photographers now work on the front lines of the news, where fear and violence are standard occupational hazards. But beyond the chaos and carnage, there are also extraordinary moments of humanity and heroism.

 




After researching war photographers,we decided it would be fitting for the job of the protagonist. The reason that we have decided this is because of the effects it has on people: watching this trauma going on can have horrific consequences.

An example of a iconic female war photographer is Marie Colvin. She was injured which is the reason she wears her eye patch. She then risked her life taking her war images and was killed in bombings in Syria. This demonstrates the risks that these women go through to show the world the horrific truths of war.

WAR PHOTOGRAPHY:

I documented my research using a scoop-it:

FILM DISTRIBUTION

I looked into the Facebook page of the film The woman in black to see how they promoted the film.

By having a Facebook page this allows Facebook users to stay up to date with news and information about the film as well as the ability to share this information with their friends.

The audience is attracted by the amount of other friends that like the page as well as the interactive aspects of the fan page, such as the ability to post personal comments about the page and to see new pictures and videos surrounding the film.

PLANNING CAMERA ANGLES

Today we looked into different camera shots we could use for scenes showing the relationship between the woman and a child.

This shot shows that the child is distracted and the woman seems in tranced by the child this is a wide shot. 

This shot is a mid shot showing in close up the woman restraining the urge to touch the child.   

This is a low shot showing clearly both the characters facial expressions it shows the woman's fascination and the child's innocence. 

PLANNING THE DOLL PROP

We decided to use an old fashioned doll wearing a vintage dress. We chose this doll as it is human like and we can make it look scary and creepy by camera angles for example; this shot of her sitting by a mirror:

PLANNING: SOUNDTRACK

•  I researched music tracks for the soundtrack of our film opening: We want to create thriller sound codes of enigma, suspense and jeopardy.
• I first looked on Spotify, on their site they had a feature that allowed me to browse genres of music and playlists. I looked into a playlist that was labelled "Mental illness". This playlist was good as it had a mix of instrumental and non instrumental music. I found two songs that I feel would work well for our piece. The first one was called "can't" by Scarling. 

• This song works well as it is quite dark and the instrumental helps create unsettling ambience. 
• The second song is, "All is numb" by 32 leaves. 

• This song would work well as it would set the mood for when the woman discovers she is barren. 
• I also looked into songs on youtube. I researched the genre of thrillers. I found 3 great instrumental pieces that would be good to create suspense and enigma. 

PLANNING G32: CAMERAWORK

We planned our camera work in advanced we looked into camera angles camera movement and shot types, to create a sense of jeopardy and suspense.

AUDIENCE PROFILE

• We think our target audience are male and female between the ages of 15-40. The reason that both genders are able to watch this is because it is a psychological thriller rather than a gruesome one.

Clothes: Topshop, Asos, Urban Outiftters, Superdry, Topman, Vans, Converse, Toms.

Restaurants: Nandos, KFC, Wagammas, Creams, Subway.

Films: Taken, Gravity, Hunger Games: Catching Fire,

TV: Suits, Zen, Criminal Minds, CSI, The Following, Poirot, Breaking Bad, Dexter.

Technology: iPad, Android Phone, Xbox, PS3, Netflix, Twitter, Instagram.

Games: Call of Duty, FIFA, Battlefields.

Music: The Vaccines, Mumford and Sons, The 1975, Alt-J, Artic Monkeys, Bombay Bicycle Club.

We decided that we would make a audience profile like NME had as it included text and images. We did this on Photoshop as we had used this before therefore it was an easy task.

EVALUATION QUESTION 3: DISTRIBUTION

We watched a video in class about Film distribution, from the site: http://launchingfilms.info/furtherdiscussions/ 

We looked on the FDA website which gave a step to step guide of how you would distribute your film to get as many people to watch it in the opening weekend which decides its success.

• THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN: This is used to make a film stand out from the rest. (Ian George the managing director of 20th century fox) says things that make a film stand out out can be "the cast", 'the playability", "even the soundtrack". David Willing (the CEO of miracle media group) says that for a movie "the trailer is the most important thing in selling a film", "without any synergy the campaign wont work together". The overall look of a film is important and usually there is a constant theme issued to a certain movie such as 'Spider man' or 'Batman'.  This means it "becomes immediately identifiable", (David Willing the CEO of miracle media group) . Also this helps communicate the genre of the film. 

• THE POSTER: The posters are designed in order to entice the audience and determine genre. Robin Behling (REREF) says that "Its the first look people will have of the movie", "It needs to sell all the movie has to offer". Paul Noble (Creative Partnership) explains how posters "tease" the public. He also talks about how the posters make people "aware that a film is coming", so this generates buzz. 

• THE TRAILER:  David Willing (the CEO of miracle media group) explains that "The trailer is the most important key to selling the film, as its the publics first and probably only exposure to what there actually going to buy into", The trailers are shown mostly in the cinema and our available online. Certain trailers are deliberately shown before the viewing of a movie of a similar or the same genre as the movie trailer, so that it is being presented straight to its target market. Paul Noble (Creative Partnership) talks about how for trailers in the comedy genre "A voiceover is effective" as it helps to communicate the humour whereas for a drama or thriller "the action should do all the work", as well as "captions" as the silence "sets the mood"

• TV SPOTS: David Willing (the CEO of miracle media group) says that "TV spots are created much later in the day when the full film is made", "They are usually a lot shorter". They need to get across; "The film title, who's in it and when it comes out". Gerry Lewis (International Marketing Consultant) talks about "the right piece of film to put in the right television commercial, that wets the appetite ". 

• MULTIMEDIA: Being in the 21st century, the internet is playing an important role in the advertising campaign. Most films have a film website which displays a selection of things to do with the film such as: A Gallery, Games, Store and Downloads. John Hamm (Greenroom Digital) talks about  "Viral marketing", he talks about how "websites, games and downloads" create trends and a buzz around the film. 

• PUBLICITY: This involves everything from, articles in magazines to radio broadcasts about the film. This is important to the film as it is addressing a bigger audience.

• REVIEWS: These are vital as the can effect our dissuasion to see a film. Helen O' Hara (Empire Magazine) talks about how, "its not only one review thats important, its how a film has been reviewed generally that's important".

• OPENING WEEKEND: The opening weekend is curtail as if your film does not make a substantial amount of money in that three day period, it is deemed unsuccessful. Your film has to have made more money than any other film in that cinema. The results of this all depends on the success of the campaign as it is what will be attracting audiences.

RESEARCH: PHOTOGRAPHERS AND JOURNILISTS

After deciding the job of the protagonist we have come to the conclusion that she is going to be a war photographer. The reason that we have decided this is because of the effects it has on people: watching this trauma going on can have horrific consequences. For example the most common impact on women war photographers is PTSD, depression and alcoholism. We feel that this is also a good job for the woman to have as it could be a reason for her aggressive outburst and kidnapping.

I have made a Pintrest about female war photographers:

CHILD ABDUCTIONS: RESEARCH

I researched child abductions in order to gain an insite into the world of kidnapping and the information behind each story. I googled the word "snatched" and the amount of kidnappings that happen all around the world is horrific. This suggests that what happens in our story could actually happen. These were some of my findings: 

A recent case that I researched was that of Madeline Mccann. The case is in the public eye and it demonstrates the horror of an open case. It also presents a possible storyline/ details for our film. 

CONSTRUCTION: NEW STORYBOARD

Today we decided to remake our storyboard for our film opening as our initial storyboard was not very detailed and did not display much information. Our new storyboard shows clearly what we want to film, where we intend to film the scene and what we need to film. Here are the photos from our new storyboard.

RESEARCH: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

•  We analyzed the opening of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher 2011)

In the girl with the dragon tattoo opening, there are many images that are dark and disturbing. To start with there is an image of a thick running black liquid.

This provokes the feeling of drowning and makes the audience feel uncomfortable and distressed. Mixed with this you have a lot of images of the human form, first you have a prone body, the body has a restraining, metallic collar around it's neck. This is put together with an image of faces with black liquid spewing out of them, this adds to the initial theme of drowning. This shot is also revolting and shocking for the audience. 

A key visual code is the computer keyboard and cables, as they signal genre and plot, we now know that somehow these elements are Incorporated into the film. Also the during the shots where the technologies is shown the opening titles still maintain the dark black background, which shows us that there role in the film could be negative.

Many of the images are distorted or manipulated. For example the cables are all tangled and the body's are positioned in uncomfortable and unnatural ways. This hints to the plot as it could suggest a tangled web of deception and intrigue which unravels as the story develops.

Accompanying this dark malevolent imagery, is a aggressive, unrelenting percussion music.  this adds to the darkness of the opening as it sets the ambiance and creates a negative and frighting atmosphere.

A new frighting image is introduced of a body seemed to be set alight, this sudden introduction of colour shocks the audience. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS IN TV AND FILM SCOOP-IT

• I looked at two different websites which compared and reviewed thriller movies and television. I liked them both as they provided different opinions  on professional work as well as criticism. This helped me as I can try to adapt my film to avoid making mistakes as well as I can make my film appeal to the mass market. 

RESEARCH; GENRE

•  I researched into thriller and crime in tv and movies. I looked at trailers of films such as Taken and down will come baby, ( both thrillers).

•  I liked this shot from Taken as the camera becomes what the actor is looking and putting you directly into the movie, I felt that I could use this in my film for when the woman finds the doll.

• This over the shoulder shot from Down will come baby shows a woman restraining a child. The angle shows the womans domination over the child and the childs fear. I felt like this shot would work well for my film. 

• I liked this shot as it clearly establishes that the woman is restraining the child and it makes the viewer feel uncomfortable. 

 

• This shot would work well for me as it is a point of view shot, showing the woman fixating on an image of a child. The shot is very dark and sets the mood well. 

•  Lastly, this shot clearly tells to the viewer what has happened, I felt like this would be a great shot to end my film opening with as it creates a sense suspense. 

SCOOP-IT

• Today I created a scoop it account to keep up to date with new information and to have it all in one place. It also enables me to use new technology in my work. Scoop-it also has an inter active feature, which allows me to go directly onto certain websites that link to what im researching. 

MY HOME PAGE ON SCOOP-IT 

EXAM PRACTISE:FINGERSMITH

This extract starts with an establishing shot, showing both females in an old fashioned, Victorian style room. This sets the time period. On top of this both women are wearing Victorian dresses with hoop skirts, although one of the women, (Maud) is dressed and looks like a wealthy aristocratic female and the other, (Sue) is wearing a less extravagant outfit and appears to be of a lower class to Mord and be beneath her.

In the second scene, showing a close up of the two women’s faces as Maud holds an expensive, extravagant gown in front of Sue in the mirror. There is a clever use of editing; a voice over, of the thoughts and feelings from the character of Maud. This tells the audience of Maud’s desire and fascination with the character of Sue. As the first thing the audience hear is, ”she was so beautiful, but I had to keep telling myself …”, this instantly tells the audience that Maud’s feelings towards sue are romantic and sexual, but also inappropriate. This then cuts to a mid-shot of the two women looking into the mirror. In this shot we see Sue’s face in the reflection. This shows her facial expressions; she is clearly showing a hopeless longing for the woman as she stares at Sue’s reflection. There is then a cross fade into the next scene showing Maud alone at a desk, the sound in this scene is a soft, light and classical music, playing, which suggests the feeling of love and happiness. As this is played during Maud’s voiceover about Sue, it links the two ideas of love and Sue; thus suggesting that Maud is in love with Sue. The fades between the next two shots are slowed down and merged into one another, this conveys the sense of longing and fantasy, as it is as if we are the character of Maud staring at Sue and seeing her move in slow motion, to highlight how amazing she is to her.

The mise en scene of the next scene shows the two women in their nightgowns sharing a bed together, (as was custom in those days). The camera pans from left to right slowly as we see the character of Maud caress Sue. The camera then zooms in focusing on Maud hovering her hand over Sue’s breast whilst she is sleeping this creates tension and shows Maud’s fascination for Sue. It also shows the audience that Sue must not know about Maud’s love for her. As the camera pans back it follows her hand down Sue’s body. This is a sign of affection and desire.

The following scene is outside and starts with a close up of Maud’s face obsessing over a canvas painting. The camera then cuts away to Sue posing for the painting lying femininely against a boat.  This presents her as somewhat of a helpless, damsel in distress, as she dozes in the sun.

 There is a soft melody playing in the background of this scene, which is interrupted by the dialogue of a new male character this presents him as a harsh, aggressive character. Thus making the audience view him in a negative way. This is also suggested to be Maud’s feelings towards the man as he has interrupted her fantasy. The camera shows an establishing shot of all three characters, and then quick cuts to a close up of Maud’s face showing worry, as she is concerned that Sue will burn lying out in the sun. This reinforces the idea of the love and affection Maud has for Sue. To establish the sexual connection between Maud and Sue, the editing placed a shot of Maud staring out next to an extreme close up of Sue’s chest panning down over her body. By having these two shots next to one another, it is as if we see what Maud is looking at which is Sue. These scenes are accompanied by a more melancholy and unnerving music, this sets the atmosphere and suggests that what Maud is doing is inappropriate and not allowed. Following on from this we see a close up of the paintbrush, which is dripping with red paint, this paint is then drops down onto Maud’s dress. The camera then pans up to reveal her face, which appears unchanged by this event, thus proving her fascination and devotion to Sue.

In the final scene, the male character grabs Maud and pins her against a tree, we then see a mid shot of him physical restraining her. This makes the viewer see the man in an unfavourable and aggressive way and see the women as tender and loving.

RESEARCH: DON'T LOOK NOW

Today we analysed Don't Look Now (Nicholas Roeg, 1973.) Although this is a slightly older thriller in comparison to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, it is still completely effective in demonstrating thriller codes and conventions.

PLANNING: STORYBOARD

Today we created  a storyboard to work out what scenes we want to incorporate in our film. We planned out what we wanted to film and how these scenes flow together. 

 

REAEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE: THE BRIEF HISTORY OF FILM TITLES

I watched a brief history of film titles, courtesy of the art of the title website, (http://www.artofthetitle.com) and I discovered how film titles have developed and modernised over time, for example the clip opened to show a film title for the movie "intolerance". It is clearly very old fashioned, with many good features, such as what genre the film is (Drama) and the logo of the company who produced it (DG). These features help communicate otherwise lost information to the viewer in a clear and concise way, I found this to be very effective.

Secondly I looked into the opening titles for the film "Anatomy Of Murder". I found these titles to be effective as they clearly showed an cartoon like drawing of a murdered victim  with the title of the movie written inside. Also the title is generated with very dark colours such as black and grey, I found this to be clever as the title linked to the theme of the movie, (dark and mysterious) and instantly communicated to the viewer the tone of the film. 

Thirdly, this title sequence stood out to me personally, as I found it very effective in setting the theme and time period of the movie ("Sherlock Homes"). The directors name is clearly presented on top of vintage style paper with a watercolour painting of the two main characters. This is effective as it illustrates to the viewer that the movie is old fashioned and is about the two fictional characters presented in the left hand corner. 

Lastly, towards the end of the video montage of film titles a modern one arose, It showed it block letters the title of the film ("ALIEN"). Although some of the letters are distorted, I find this to be effective as it really gives the sense of an unfamiliar presence as the viewer is confused by the letters being presented in this way. Also the background somewhat resembles that of a planet and the use of very neutral colours backs up this idea. This also sets up the film to the viewer as the theme is instantly established in this one shot. 

RESEARCH: JUNO

I looked into the opening of, Juno, The Title Designer Gareth Smith used Xerox-copied cut-out animation. This gave it the effect of looking like a drawing. 

• The genre of this film is a comedy, this is reflected in the opening credits of the film as it is cartoon like as well as the soundtrack playing throughout it is very upbeat and cheerful. 
• The credits coincide well with the opening titles as they are written in bubble writing and resemble a doodle which is similar to the back round drawing.
• The atmosphere is created to be joyful and childish: The back round is all doodles and colourful as if a child has drawn them. Also the back round is simple and easy for the viewer to scrutinise and depict. 
• The camera work was shot on two cameras: a Panasonic HVX200 and a Canon DSLR. They were shot using the burst mode at around 8 frames per second. This is generally the frame rate used for the title sequence, which created a lovely stop-motion look.

RESEARCH: ALIEN

 watched the opening for the film, Aliens, (director: James Cameron). It looks into the supernatural and this is reflected in the opening titles.

• The genre of this film is sci-fi, this is presented by the colours and editing of the opening titles: The scene starts in all black and slowly a neon colour develops in the back round it presents a futuristic and unfamiliar feel for the viewer and soon it is revelled to be the film title (Alien).
•   The sound used helps to set the tone as it starts of very soft and then builds up the climax reaching a crescendo. This not only amps up the viewer, but shocks them by the sudden sound of the symbols crashing together. 
• The titles are very simple but effective as the neon blue light is clearly the main focus, with the credits appearing in a simple font in white with the blue never fading from the back round.

RESEARCH: DELICATESSEN

Today I started to research title sequences, on the website The Art of The Title (http://www.artofthetitle.com).

I looked into the opening of Delicatessen (director: Jean Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, 1991)

• The genre of this film is black comedy, so the title design is witty, in that it invites the viewer to take pleasure in the way that each credit is embedded in an appropriate visual clue: The Costume designer's name is seen to be sewn into a clothing label, the director of music's name is printed onto a broken cd and so on.
• The time period in set and easily established by the quality and age of the artefacts: the broken vinyl record, wooden folding ruler and so on. Also many of the props are covered in dust and clutter. 
• Colour and lighting are key visual codes. The use of sepia tone familiarises the audience with the time frame, this with the added use of the colour black adds to the dark and grim nature of the subject matter. 
• The camera movement is important to add to the atmosphere: as it pans across the lay out of props it slows down and allows the viewer to inspect and digest the clever placement of the credits. 

 I