2nd Rough Cut

The blacked out scenes are where future scenes are going to be edited in.
SKIP TO MINUTE- 0:15
2ND SKIP TO MINUTE- 0:55

1st Rough Cut

Preliminary Filming Task Evaluation

Preliminary Filming Task Evaluation

How filming went:

Initially, when we were told that we had to make a preliminary filming task, we came up with a main subject and plot very quickly. We immediately brainstormed various situations where two people would have to talk face to face, and we came up with the plot of an interview for a job vacancy. 

Overall, our group worked very well. We cooperated efficiently with each other and demonstrated excellent teamwork. Additionally, considering that this was our first experience of filming, we feel it went very well and our filming can only improve as we learn more skills.

How editing went:

Some members of the group had more experience with the ding software Final Cut Express than others. This worked as both an advantage and a disadvantage for the group. This was good because it allowed those who didn't know how to use it to learn firsthand and would help in the future. However this meant that there was limited number of people who actually knew what they were doing, which meant that half the group found themselves with nothing to do. However all group members contributed relevant idea on what would make it look the best it could possibly look.

Due tot the fact that tis was just practice, we did not add any unnecessary edits to the footage, and we used various editing techniques such as action match cuts and shot reverse shots. This helped to communicate the relationships and positioning of the two characters in our scene.

Problems we encountered:

The only element of filming that we found difficult is the various issues with tripod. The tripod we received did not turn 360 degrees, which made panning very difficult. This caused us to keep moving the tripod back and fourth around the room. This was very inconvenient due to the fact it made it very hard to keep the same position for the camera, which meant that some shots may have looked different compared to the other one.

Strength of our prelim:

In terms of various camera shots, that is another thing that we feel went well. We were able to experiment with a variety of camera shots, such as wide shot (to include all characters within one shot),  a close up shot (to emphasise the importance of a specific action) and medium shots (to isolate the characters from the rest of the scene but still to be able to see their body language). This helped us because it helped us to practice a wide range of shots, in preparation for our real opening sequence. 

Weaknesses of the prelim: 

The only weakness I think our preliminary filming task demonstrated is the basic plot and dialogue. We feel this is because we were mainly focus on getting the filming done and experimenting different  filming/editing techniques, and did not spend enough time developing a good plot and a good script to accompany the filming. For our actual opening sequence, we will try our best develop a much better script.   

What we will remember to do the same next time:

Our main priority throughout was to not break the 180 degree rule. We did this by ensuring that we had one main designated area for the camera  to be. The 180 degree rule is a theoretical  line that is drawn across a room the two people are face to face with each other. Ensuring that you keep to the 180 degree helps the audience understand that the two characters face to face and are talking to each other. It also helps the audience to establish positions of characters within a room. As a whole, the group and I did not find the this rule hard to understand and we successfully adhered to it. In our future filming task, we will ensure that we won’t break this rule. 

Another element we will remember to use next time is action match shot editing technique. This will help in the future because it'll allow our scenes and shots to flow nice and smoothly, rather than looking very quickly and unclear, which may disorientate the audience.

Although we didn't experience any during this preliminary filming task, for the next time we filming, we will ensure that we not have any continuity errors. This will ensure that our filming looks accurate and realistic , and will make it look professional, rather than cheap and unexperienced. 

What you will remember to do different next time:

One problem we faced during the editing process is losing unsaved work. Although we were unprepared for our computer to crash, it is our fault for not saving our work frequently enough. The computer’s system then went onto fail, which resulted in us losing a small portion of our work. We had to reedit it t a later date, however that was very time consuming. In the future, we must make sure that we sae all work every 5 minutes to stop situations like that occurring again.

PRACTICE FILMING

PRELIMINARY FILMING TASK

3RD DAY OF FILMING EVALUATION

3RD DAY OF FILMING EVALUATION

LOCATION: FREYA'S HOUSE. THE HOUSE OF THE MARRIED COUPLE.

What went well:

• Just like the other two filming days, everybody remembered that we had a filming day, and all members of the group arrived to the location of the shooting on time. Jessica was uncharge of the camera, and Freya was in charge of the tripod, and both did well to remember to bring them. Jessica was not only in charge of bring the camera, but she was also in charge of bringing the ready meal needed for the scene that we were shooting that day.  The group demonstrated good cooperation and everyone was efficient.
• Just like our last filming day, it was a continuation from a previous, therefore, all characters who featured in the previous scene had to have the same costume as they did before. Jessica and Robbie were in the previous scene before, and they both successfully remembered to where the exact same thing as they did before. By doing this, it eliminated all possible continuity errors that would make or opening sequence look sloppy or unrealistic. 
• All round, every group member had the confidence to contribute new and improved ideas to the team. Morale was high and due to this being our last filming day, everyone gave 100% effort to ensure that we pushed hard to complete the last section of our filming.

Problems we faced during the day:

Our solution for the lighting problem.

• From the first piece of filming that we shot, we immediately established that was a major lighting problem. The location of our scene had large wide open glass door that allow a very harsh amount  of lighting into the room. This affected our filming in such way that when we were shooting a characters face, it was very bright and made it difficult to see the characters facial features/appearance in general. This problem did waste a lot of our time as we couldn't find a solution, however in the end, we came up with the idea of two group members holding up a bed sheet against the window to block out the light. 
• The location we filmed our final scene on was located on a busy main road. This caused us some problems when we were filming a scene at the front of the house. The scene required the sister character knocking on the front door. However this was an issue due to the fact that we were not sure if the dialogue would be eclipsed by the noise of cars on the road. In the end, it wasn't too much of a problem, however we ares till yet to edit the footage to see how bad the problem is, and we wish to resolve the problem from there.
• Our final problem was the printing process. We had planned to film the husband printing out missing posters from the computer, before meeting the wife sister to go and hang them up. Although we had previously printed them out, we wanted to print some out to be the scene more realistic by filming the actually paper coming out of the printer. We were unable to this due to the fact that the inker in the printer wasn't full, so the picture did not come out smoothly, and was difficult to comprehend what the poster actually was. We eventually decided to just film the well-printed poster on the printer, giving the impression that its come out of the printer. 

All group members have done incredibly well throughout all 3 filming days in terms of organisation, efficiency, teamwork and contributing ideas. We faced some challenged problems, and due to the  fact that we were all inexperience, those problems  cause a lot of trouble. Many of these problems delayed the process of completing the filming, however as a team, we all worked together to find solutions for these problem, and all group member had an equal role in the success of our filming.

PHOTOS FROM DAY 3 OF FILMING

2ND DAY OF FILMING EVALUATION

2ND DAY OF FILMING EVALUATION

LOXATION: CELLAR. WHERE THE WIFE IS BEING KEPT HOSTAGE

What went well:

• The location for our main scene of our opening sequence was exactly how all group members of the group imagined it. Although none of us have ever stepped inside the cellar, our first impressions of it were excellent, and we were all very pleased with the scene. It was dark, dirty, clustered, and was an ideal cellar for the main concept of the film. 
• Once again, all members of the group remembered that it was a filming day, and we all met up on time at the location agreed. This was good because it allowed to work quickly and efficiently. Great cooperation was demonstrated by the group and there is key sense of understanding within all members. Every individual was organised, and ensured that they got permission from the form tutors to leave s cool prematurely before afternoon registration. 
• The owner of the cellar was not part of the group and does not take media, however she played a  key role throughout the who of the afternoon. We hypothetically gained an additional team member, as she helped with the lighting of the scenes, contributing relevant ideas on how to improve the quality of our footage, and was a helpful addition all round. 
• We did not experience any continuity errors, Our scene was filmed as a follow on scene from the footage we shot at day 1 of filming, therefore, all characters who were in the filming of day oe had to ensure that they were wearing the same costume and that it all looked the same. the two main characters that were in the first scene (Jessica and Robbie) did well to remember exactly what they were wearing from the previous day of shooting and allowed the filming to look realistic. 

Problems we faced during the day:

• Around 2 hours prior to the scheduled time the filming, we remembered that we had forgotten some key props for the filming. We had forgotten to get the costumes for one of the characters who was prominent in that days filming.The clothing that our member brought with her were not suitable for getting dirty and using for props, so we wanted to get spare clothes that were suited for making dirty to make it more realistic. Not only did we forget about the costumes, but we forgot about the ready-meals needed for the wife in the cellar as well as the duck tape and napkins needed to tie up the wife to the chair.
• The floor of the cellar was very uneven. The group was not flat and had many holes in various placed, which made standing the tripod on the floor very difficult and challenging, This made filming challenging due to the fact that the tripod was not straight, so it made the footage looked slanted. This was not our intention, which overall made the footage look cheap and of bad quality. 
• The group experienced some lighting problems throughout. The lighting attached to the wall was convenient, however it was too harsh for the scene. However, there was a detachable light in another room which had the correct brightness, however we could not find the right place  to put the lighting without the shadows of other people appearing in the shots. Furthermore, when we did manage to get another group member to stand holding it in the right position, we found it hard to shoot the footage without them being in it. Eventually, we managed to find a good position on the floor in the corner of the room, which solved all our problem. Although the problem was resolved eventually, the various problems we faced were very time consuming. 
• One problem that we faced was the the issue of dialogue. There was particular piece of dialogue which our main actor was very uncertain about how to say it. We could have avoid this problem if we had taken the decision the to it go over our dialogue, however, we decided to record the scene over and over again, which we later found to be the wrong decision. 

Overall, everyone in the group would agree that day 2 of filming was the most successful day of filming. It was good experience seeing a well structured cellar for our film, and it was interesting to see the various parts of the cellar. The costumes, location, team working and cooperation was all to a good standard in general, went very well. Out aim for our next filming day is to be much more organised than we were this time, and remember all the key props that we need for that day. 

PHOTOS FROM DAY 2 OF FILMING.

1ST DAY OF FILMING EVALUATION

1^st day of filming evaluation 8/12/15

LOCATION: WALKWAY. THIS IS WHERE THE HUSBAND AND SISTER HANG UP THE MISSING POSTERS

What went well:

• Considering that it was our first official day of filming, everyone remembered and were well organised. Every group member got permission from their form tutor to go out during lunch and stay out until we were finished. This meant missing a compulsory registration in school,  owever all group member were granted authorisation and were allow to miss it. The group showed great organisation and responsibility
• The general quality of the filming and footage was good. The various scenes that were shot were to every body’s satisfaction and overall, all members of the group were content with the final product
• Throughout the filming, all members of the group were consistently contributing ideas as to what would make of footage better. There was good team work shown and all members were cooperative with each other.  
• The quality of the acting was of a good standard. We did not use external members of the group; however the actors we did use did a brilliant job. This was good because it saved a lot of time due to the fact that we didn’t have to find other actors who were good enough. This also allowed everyone to have a specific role and know exactly what they were doing. 

Problems we faced during the day:

• Pedestrians often walked past whilst we were filming which meant we had to stop a couple of times, not only top ensure that they weren’t offended, but to make sure that they did not obstruct our filming. This proved to be very time consuming and delayed the efficiency of our filming overall.
• One of the tripods that we hired out did not rotate 360 degrees. This proved to be difficult due to the fact that we hired two tripods so that we could experiment and shoot two different angles for our filming. However due the second tripod not rooting 360 degrees, it was essentially useless to us and consequently we did not use. 
• On our first day of shooting, it was a very sunny day, which produced very harsh lighting for footage, This made various clips hard to view and generally disrupted the quality of our videos. We consistently had to change the positions of the camera to ensure that the light in our footage was correct.  
• One of our group members brought his own camera from home, so that we could have more cameras to have more footage with. Unfortunately, the memory card from the camera brought from home was not working, and general technical difficulties were experienced with this camera. 

Even better next time if:

Next time, to improve on our filming day, we could potentially pick a better day to film so that the members of the public don’t interfere with our filming. Also, before we start to film, we could make sure that we practice in all conditions so that we don't experience problems due to wether conditions. However, all round, our first filming day was successful and we all feel that it can only get better from here.

PICTURES FROM OUR FIRST DAY OF SHOOTING:

Missing poster+explanation

         

Here is the missing persons poster that James makes in the opening sequence, this is a vital prop used throughout the opening as there are scenes of the sister and husband putting it up in order to find Megan. We chose to have the husband make it as it shows him to be concerned for the wife’s safety, therefore tricking the audience into thinking he has nothing to do with her being missing. We chose this picture of Megan as we feel it shows the side of their relationship that is quite possessive and shows her as a submissive character, this is by him having his arm around her almost hinting that she is under his control which is a key theme throughout the film. 

Planned as a group. Written by Jessica Granger. 

Contingency Plan

Engaging the Audience

Engaging the Audience

Camera shots 

Canted shots: This will be use to make the shot look uneven and disorientated the audience. It'll also connote the feelings of the wife, to show fear, confusion, anxiety and panic. 

The camera will always be to one side of the husband. The shot will never 100% show the husband face, and will constantly partially show parts of his face. This will create a mysterious, unclear character, making the the husband enigmatic. This links to Roland Barthes' theory, high states that all good narratives have enigma codes, which leaves the audience wanting to continue to watch so everything can be resolved. 

Extreme close up shots: extreme close up shots will be used on the husband so that you can never see his face clearly. This will contribute to the enigmatic character that is being created. Extreme close up shots will use on the wife to emphasis emotions and feelings. This will create suspense within the audience and will build tension. 

All these camera shots will be used to disorientated the audience as much as possible. The camera shots will not reveal anything completely so that the audience will want to continue to watch so that they can find out what is going. 

Sound/Dialogue/ music 

Eery non-diegetic asynchronous sound that does not match with the visual content. This will be used to signify that there is something that the audiences are unaware of. The asynchronous music will also be used to disorientated the audience and confuse them, which will reflect the way the wife is feeling. 

The tempo of the music will increase dramatically when the husband begins to walk down the stares. This will be done to build up tension with in the audience, and represents the husband as an antagonistic character. 

The dialogue will be soft and quiet. The character will not speak loudly during the opening sequence to signify that there is a secret that is to be told and that someone is hiding something. 

The dialogue will be minimal between the wife, husband and wife's sister in the beginning to connote tension between the character, and to show that the wife's sister may know that something is going. The minimal dialogue will also contribute to setting the scene and atmosphere of the opening scene. 

A dramatic contrast between gloomy slow paced music at the start, compared to the faster paced music to signify danger. 

All of these sound techniques will be used to represent to the audience that someone is being deceptive and that there is some thing to be revealed. This will make the ash wince continue to watch so they can discover this revelation. 

Editing transitions. 

Quick transitions from one scene to another. Scenes will end prematurely and will cut to other locations quickly. This will be done so that the audience he find it hard to follow what is going on and will not be able keep up with the storyline. 

However, in contrast, there will be smooth transitions from one scene to another juxtaposition to the quick transitions used. This will be sued to confuse the audience and it'll make the mood of the opening sequence unclear. 

Every piece of visual content, there will be a filter that will represent the scene as mysterious and enigmatic. This will be done so that whole entire mood of the opening sequence is represented in the same when and that there is something unclear throughout.

All these siting techniques will be used to create a quick, paced dramatic opening sequence, without bombarding the audience will too many action codes. It'll be fast paced and unclear so that the audience find it hard to follow, consequently encouraging them to continue watching. 

Colours 

A lot of black costumes and coloured objects to connote darkness. The husband will be in a black consume to represent him as the clear antagonist,mysterious, deceptive and ambiguous. Overall represent him as the clear villain in the opening sequence. 

The wife will be if a red top and a white dress. The use of red will be done to connote love (love for either her husband or the man she has cheated with). However the red will also connote danger to audience, signifying that she is not the innocent character in this film and that she is untrustworthy. 

Overall, the colours will represent the characters in a fairly obvious way, however will engage the audience and make them question why they're being represented in this way. 

Locations 

The wife's sister and the husband will be seen hanging "missing" posters around the area in fairly obviously and common locations, which intrigues the audience due to the fact that there are so many locations, that it makes them curious as to which location is the main location. 

The cellar is the most prominent location in the whole film, and the scene will end there. The opening will end there, along with the revelation that the wife is there. This will engage the audience because it'll make them want to continue watching the film, to find out why the wife is tied in the cellar. 

The use of various locations in the opening sequence will add to the confusion of the scene, and will make the audience wonder where she is. Due to the fact that so many common locations are used, it creates further ambiguity as to where she is, and builds tension.

Lighting

To add to the enigmatic character of the husband, very little/ dark lighting will be used so that his face is not revealed. This will add to the enigma codes of the husband because it won't allow the audience to see his face clearly, making him even more mysterious. 

Harsh lighting as the door in the cellar is opened to emphasis the duration the wife has been down in the cellar. This will give the audience the idea that the husband has known how long she has been down in the cellar. 

Generally low lighting to emphasis the darkness and gloominess of the film, and to create enigmatic characters, intriguing the audience to continue to watch the film so that situations are resolved. 

Planned by Robbie Butt, Jessica Granger, Freya Money and Jack Baffour

Written by Jack Baffour

Opening sequence questionnaire

Opening sequence questionnaire

1.) Gender

o   Male

o   Female

o   Other

2.) Which age bracket do you fall into? (how old are you)

o   0-10 years old

o   11-18 years old

o   19-25 years old

o   26-30 years old

o   31+

3.) Relationship status?

o   Single

o   Married

o   In a relationship

4.) What socio-economic group would you consider yourself?

o   A: managerial jobs with high earning salaries

o   B: middle managerial with a good salary

o   C1: Junior managerial roles with an average salary

o   C2: Skilled manual worker

o   D: semi-skilled manual workers

o   E: pensioner, student or unemployed 

5.) Our opening sequence plot: a young couple are married and live together. The woman is a personal assistant and the man is a successful businessman, and that is how they met. However, the woman has cheated on her husband with her new boss and the husband has found out. He is keeping her hostage in their cellar underground, but the rest of society believe she is just gone missing and the man is pretending to not know where she is.

From a scale of 0-5 (o being never and 5 being 100%), what is the likelihood of you wanting to watch this film?

o   0

o   1

o   2

o   3

o   4

o   5

6.) Which costume do you feel would look more psychopathic for the male character (husband)?

o   All black (black t-shirt, black jeans, black shoes)

o   Navy blue t-shirt, black jeans ad black shoes and a navy blue baseball hat on

o   Black hoodie, with blue jeans and a any coloured shoes.

o   Biker outfit (leather jacket, black jeans, black boots)

7.) Which costume do you feel represents the female character (wife) as promiscuous the most?

o   Red top with no sleeves and a shirt white pencil skirt

o   All black (a black tight top and a black pencil skirt)

o   A red short dress (tight)

8.) Which main title do you feel fits best according to the plot of the story?

o   Twisted

o   Missing

o   Deception

o   The Cellar

o   Where is she?

o   Down below

o   Unforgiving

9.) What general certificate should our film be? (Age restriction)

o   PG

o   U

o   12

o   15

o   18

10.) Roughly around what age range should our target audience be?

o   5-10 year olds

o   11-15 year olds

o   16-20 year olds

o   21-25 years olds

o   26+

11.) What you feel there is anything we could do to improve our idea for better locations, further elements to add the plot etc.)

 

storyboard+ storyboard explainantion

Here is the storyboard, which are the scenes we plan to shoot for our opening sequence. We’ve planned to try out the scenes with dialogue however for a number of reasons we may not include them in our final piece, these reasons include the possible poor acting skills or if they don’t work and make the film less believable. Throughout the opening there will be non-diegetic music playing which only cuts out when the screen goes blank, as written on the storyboard at times the music changes like when James enters the cellar and when the title of the film comes up. I was unable to write the real title of our film when drawing the story board because we are still undecided however obviously where it says ‘TITLE’ that’s when it will come up. Also the amount of scenes may chance if cutting from one to another look unnatural we may have to include an extra scene in the middle, these are things we will only be able to judge when we begin to film the opening sequence and/or when we begin to edit.

Planned as a group, written up by Jessica Granger

Shooting Schedule

Shooting Schedule

DAY/TIME		LOCATION		SHOT DESCRIPTION	PEOPLE NEEDED
Tuesday 8th December PM		Exterior - street/alleyway		Long shot of sister and husband in street	Jess, Robbie, all crew
				Close up of sister pinning up posters
Tuesday 15th December PM		Interior - Cellar		POV shot of wife looking at door	Freya, Robbie, all crew
				Close ups of wife in chair of specific body parts
				Long shots of husband walking into cellar
				Medium shot of husband chucking food on floor
				Various extreme close up shots
				Shot of wall fading into title sequence
Monday 21st Decemeber PM		Interior - Kitchen		Medium shots of husband cooking	Robbie, Jess, all crew
				Close up of his hands
				Long shots/wide shots of him dishing up food
				Pan shot of husband walking around
				Tilted shot of him sitting down eating
				Establishing shot of husband at desk
				POV shot of him looking at screen/printer
				Head on shot looking at missing poster
				Subjective filming of husband
				Tracking shot of husband walking to front door
				Head on shot of husband looking at sister
				Long/head on shot of husband walking out of door