Potential Name Ideas

Angela:

• I thought maybe we could use a well known idiom that has potential thriller connotations and/or is relevant to the rest of the hypothetical film.
  
  Examples of films that do this:
  -Murphy's Law (not technically a film, more of a series but it is a bit of a crime/thriller thing).
• Something biblical?
• A man's name, like Paul, for example.

Nick:

Maybe something using a one word title to create enigma and relating to the plot, eg. Taken, Snatch, Watcher, Seized or Abduction. Abduction suggests that the victim is being taken for a period of time and not actually killed, so it may be more appropriate than the other names.

Another type of title could involve a phrase or part of a phrase such as the film 'Without a Trace'. eg, 'Falling for Shadows', 'Darkness Saves', 'Running from Fate'

Could also be two seemingly random words that go together to give hints about the film, such as 'Blood Escape', 'Four Walls', 'Absolute Innocence', 'Shadows Beckon', 'Perfectly Flawed'

Steph:

Noir - in french it means black (connotations of darkness etc) but also connotations of film noir?, a male's name -such as those proposed by Angela - don't give too much away and set up interest in what the film would be about - it's more subtle than something connoting other things, Snare - to catch, Control - idea of dominance and force and compulsion

Zen:

Some enigmatic titles can be names with an adjective such as Creeping Daniel this helps with thoughts of suspense and does not give too much away. We could use names which are just a single image of something that is dangerous much like the title "Saw."

-Angela

Shoot Preparation

Grand, well, you see I thought this would be a nice place to blog our lovely last minute preparations, do we not agree?

PROPS

Tights- I (angoo) got the sparkly tights from topshop as marks and sparks had a rubbish selection of hosiery. Cost £10 however. Also I will bring some old tights so we can practice the rippy thing to our delicious satisfactions.

T-Shirt- Zen said he was going to buy two i think, as he couldn't decide which to get. I can't remember prices however. (hint hint zen write here). Everyone should try and bring one from home though.

Dress- I believe Alix is dropping some dresses around to Beccas by the time of the shoot. Lovely. - I'm bringing some as well just incase (Steph)

Shoes - I'm bringing them (steph)
ACE and a half matey.

Script

In our lesson period 7&8 on Friday 30th November we discussed the script and came up with the following.
This the script for the main character's dialogue in our actual shoot.

Girl gets out of bed:
(groaning) Oh god, my head.

On phone call:
Hello. Heh, Nah she didn't come back last night. She'll be fine, you know what she's like! I did what? oh God. oh no. Haha. Alright then. I'll speak to you later. Bye.

-Steph

Weather Conditions for Shoot: Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd November

Saturday 1st November:

Sunrise: 07:42 am
Sunset: 15:55 pm
Cloud cover: Sunny Intervals
Temperature: Highest - 11 degrees C
Lowest - 6 degrees C
Visibility: Good


Sunday 2nd November:

Sunrise: 07:43 am
Sunset: 15:55 pm
Cloud cover: Heavy rain
Temperature: Highest - 11 degrees C
Lowest - 4 degrees C
Visibility: Moderate

The weather on the first day is good, however the rain on the sunday is going to be a problem if we need to do any outdoors shooting.

-Steph

Meeting: Thursday 29th November 2007

Who attended: Nick, Stephanie, Zen

In our meeting today we discussed our test footage which we have edited into a rough version of our opening. From this opening (below) we have found a few shots which we are going to improve and decided on some editing techniques.



Editing techniques:

1. At the end of the opening the main character is grabbed from behind, we think we might either cut it before her head leaves the shot or else we will put it into slow motion.
2. We have decided that for our titles that having the titles over the action would look good. This is because there isn't much action throughout and therefore isn't a need to break it up.

Shot changes/problems:

1. The shot of the main character walking down the hallway is at the moment too broken up, so we decided to take the shot from a different angle in Rebecca's house to be able to see her coming out of the room and walking down the hall way.
2. The outside shots were too dark and so we have decided to start shooting earlier and also use a porch light to give more light to the door way to be able to see the action - also for this section of the sequence we really liked the variety of angles and positions of the camera so we are definately going to include that as it is quite disorientating.
3. In the close up shots of the glass, alkaseltzers and the cigarettes it looks like a still shot/photo so the actress needs to move more to show there is movement in the frame.
4. With the close up on the glass the shot itself is too long, but we need a longer time to see the fizzing alkaseltzer, also in our rough edit we had a continuity problem so we need to include a shot of the girl picking up the glass before she puts it down.
5. When the girl is grabbed from behind we thought that perhaps we should specifically have the girl putting her hand out on the wall (there is already some of this in the shot) and it gradually moves out of the frame in the slow motion.

As Angela wasn't at this meeting (she was off of school ill) we will make sure that she agrees with all of the things that we talked about and ask her if she has any ideas as well.

-Steph

Actors Contract

The following is a contract for our actors to make sure that they turn up ready and on time for any shoots we have organised with them. It will also make sure that if they cannot attend the shoot that they give us enough warning to sort something else out with them or find a suitable replacement.


Actor Contract Group 3D:

I agree to attend the following shooting sessions, including any re-shoots should they be necessary over these dates:

Saturday 1^st & Sunday 2^nd December (Main Shooting session)

and

Saturday 8^th & Sunday 9^th December (the re-shoot session should it be necessary).

In the event that I cannot attend one of the above dates I will give the group enough time (at least 24hours) to organise a suitable replacement if possible (e.g. not for the re-shoot) and I will give them my full co-operation in trying to organise another date for the shooting to take place on if I need to be involved. I understand that I will be informed of the meeting places and times well in advance of the shoot and will need to be on time and ready for the shoot to begin.

PRINT NAME:________________________


SIGNED:__________________________

-Steph

Meeting: Thursday 22nd November 2007

Who attended: Angela, Nick, Stephanie and Zen

We had a meeting after school on Thursday 22nd November and discussed the following things.

We had a brief discussion about music to get a vague sort of idea as to what we wanted for our music so that as individuals we could seperate and have a look for music which we could possibly use. We will blog ideas for music and then at a later meeting we will go through them and decide which is good and which isn't suitable.

We also discussed themes for the opening as we thought it would better help us to identify the type of music and later on the titles/font we would use. We decided that themes such as isolation, [any more anyone can remember?] are key.

We also decided on the costume for the girl: she should be smart dressed, but we should try to keep her relatable otherwise you may lose audience appeal. As she is going out clubbing/to a party before we meet her then we decided she should have something sparkly such as tights [which is what we decided to use] to highlight this aspect and stop her from looking too serious. By having ripped tights when she is introduced to us, then it will help to emphasise how drunk she is. She is going to be wearing high heels to again emphasise the dressy factor that she has just been out to a party or club. If you look at the post titled costume then you will see a more detailed summary of our idea and also some pictures.

We also narrowed down who our actress will be to either myself or Ciara. We ruled out the other two either due to them looking unsuitable or not being available for the filming.

- Steph

Weather Conditions for Test Shoot: 23rd November

Friday: sunny, Max Temp: 7°C (44°F), Min Temp: -5°C (23°F)
Max Temp: 7°C (44°F)
Min Temp: -5°C (23°F)
Wind Direction: NNE
Wind Speed: 14mph
Visibility: moderate
Pressure: 1023mb
Humidity: 70%
UV risk: low
Sunrise: 07:29GMT
Sunset: 16:03GMT

So looks like ok-ish weather, folks? =)

-Angela x

Costume

At our meeting today we discussed what our main character should wear. We decided she should be wearing quite smart (but not formal), 20-year-old-ish clothing, with a bit of sparkle to make it look like she's been out clubbing or at a party. Her outfit shouldn't label her as being from a particular sub-culture also, as this will detract from how relatable she is.

In order to connote how drunk she is, and that she has in fact been out clubbing/at a party we decided to have tears in her tights, have her holding her [high heeled] shoes in her hands, and to have her hair looking like it had once been carefully styled but has now gone a bit messy.

The nice clothing should stop her looking too rough, and instead like a slightly classy person who has just gone a bit wild that night.

Tights

-Marks & Spencer, £6

Dress

-Urban Outfitters; Steph's

**UPDATE**

29th November- Steph tried on this dress and we don't think it will work in the shot, as it hang's strangely. We need to brainstorm new ideas.

-Angela x

Shot List

Section 1:

1. Blank Screen
2. Low angle, with camera in road but to the side, with a pan as the car approaches
3. dot dot dot...

To be refined at meeting today..

-Angela x

Narrative Structure

This is the basic narrative structure of our opening sequence. We have broken it down into 3 main 'sections', that are really seperate scenes, to make the sequence easier to deal with.

Section 1:

1. Blank screen
2. Car comes down road
3. Car stops
4. Girl gets out
5. Says goodbye to friends and they drive off
6. Girl gets keys out and opens door etc.
7. Girl goes inside house and drops her key

Section 2:

1. She wakes up
2. She smokes a cigarette and has an Alka-seltzer
3. She gets out of bed
4. She leaves the room
5. She enters the hallway
6. We see the front door
7. She enters the bathroom

Section 3:

1. She comes into the bathroom (camera now inside)
2. Walks up to mirror
3. The door closes and she calls out
4. Washes her face
5. Gets grabbed/kidnapped by gloved person

-Angela x

Problem Prevention Seminar

We targeted the following key potential issues specific to our group that could present difficulties:

1. Poor lighting
2. Transport problems
3. Time wasting on shoot
4. Not taking enough footage
5. Losing patience
6. Not voicing opinions enough/saying how you feel
7. Transport difficulties
8. Someone being lazy/not pulling their weight
9. Making excuses
10. What was number 10?

[this list makes us look a bit bad actually. also i wasnt actually sure whther i was menat to do it so feel free to delete it or change it as appropriate =) ]

-Angela x

Leather Glove

The look and impression of the leather glove is very important to the whole opening. We need to be careful what connotations it has. We're thinking of going down the borrowing/charity shop route as they're usually expensive and should also have a used look to them I think (like how the wrinkles that form in the leather look all sinister).

Some examples of the sort of thing we're looking for:




-Angela x

(also I saw some really perfect ones in the common room and no one was around, and we should try and find who they belong to)

Alka-seltzer Idea

I thought that maybe after the shot of the cigarette pack and the glass of water we could have a shot of an Alka-seltzer packet, and then after she grabs the cigarette packet and lights a cigarette she could open the Alka-seltzer packet (mirroring when he opens the champagne in Misery) and then put it in the glass of water. This would mirror the champagne being poured into the glass and fizzing in Misery, and would take barely any of our time up.


Images:





-Angela x

Test Stills for Opening

I took some test stills for some of the shots in the beginning of the 'morning scene'; some of the ones that mirror the misery opening, just to test them out/sorta show what I meant/to possibly use in a storyboard instead of drawings, which can be innaccurate and less useful. They took a bit too much effort and time to make, however, to be worth doing for the entire storyboard. Instead we will just write a detailed shotlist and use a stills camera to capture representations of the moving shots.

Shot of Cigarette Packet:


(I like this shot).


Shot of Glass of Water:



Shot of Alka-seltzer packet:




Shot of Alka-seltzer being put into the water:


(framing would be different here- wider angle and less tilty)


(In the real one this would be a soluble tablet instead of the powder here, and also in a packet instead of a sachet in the 3rd shot; this would make it easier to tell what it was).



Also in the actual sequence the shots would be in a different location where several different surfaces are available to shoot from (different places in the room), but I had to improvise and just dragged a bedside cabinet around the room =) .

-Angela x

Practice Shot

Below is a practice shot of the pan from the front door to watching the main character in the bathroom.



- Steph

Photos of Location

Here are some photos I took of the location that we plan to use:


The front of Rebecca's house:





Rebecca's Road in two directions:




Rebecca's bedroom from the door:



Hallway:



Front door from stairs:



Bathroom door from stairs:



Bathroom Mirror:


I realise that some of the photos are poor quality but I will try to get some more during the test shoot. I just wanted to put up some so that you can get a general idea of what the house looks like.

- Steph

Prop List for Shoot

Below is a list of the props that I believe we need for the shoot. If I've missed anything out please feel free to add it.

I will also add photos of the items such as clothing when we have decided on them.

• Leather gloves for the kidnapper (Got) - Angela will bring to shoot

• Purple Dress - Actress (Got) - Steph will bring to shoot
• Sparkly Tights - Marks and Spencer - Actress (Got) - Angela will bring to first day of shooting then Steph will bring to shoot
• Black high heeled Shoes - Actress (Got) - Steph will bring to shoot
• Big white t-shirt -Actress (Got) - Zen will bring to shoot
• Cigarette box (and cigarettes) & Lighter - Actress (Got) - Angela will bring to shoot
• Alka-seltzers - (Got) Angela will bring to shoot
• Glasses for water (Rebecca has got at location)

- Steph

Problem Regarding Bathroom Door

As you can see from Nicks post [Meeting: Friday 16th November] Rebecca's bathroom has a slightly odd layout. And from where her bathroom mirror is, you cannot see the bathroom door - which causes a problem for one of the aspects of our opening.

We originally wanted the main character to be able to open the bathroom door and walk up to the mirror in one shot. However because you cannot see the bathroom door from the mirror, this wouldn't work. So instead at one of our meetings we discussed this problem and came up with a solution, two seperate shots. One of her opening the bathroom door and coming into the bathroom and the next shot as the mirror. We could use a black screened title to connect the two shots together and keep the continuity.

Another issue was that when the main character was bent over the sink washing her face (ducked out of the shot) we were going to have the shot full of the door - because the downstairs door had just closed as a generalisation the audience would expect someone to be standing in the doorway - so by not having it you give them an anticlimax which would keep them interested as to what would happen next as we hadn't chosen the most obvious way of possibly introducing the other character. So to get around the problem of not being able to see the door we decided to just continue to have the shot as it would be - from the position of the mirror - and that the overall effect of the anti-climax would still work because you would still expect someone to be behind her. An example of the villain being behind the hero or heroine is in Fatal Attraction when Dan's wife Beth is looking in the cabinet and then she closes the bathroom cabinet door (which has a mirror on it) and you see Alex standing behind her which makes you jump. However as an audience you expect something like that to happen in that situation.

So overall we've solved the continuity problem within the bathroom by having an establishing show of the location. And the problem with the door and the anti-climax has also been resolved in our opinion.

- Steph

Possible Actors

I think the (main character) actor should have a relatable, normal-ness to her so that the audience can associate with her and her situation, which should add realism to the sequence and hence more discomfort at the idea of her being kidnapped. Practically, this probably means that she shouldn't have a particularly unusual [or striking] appearence (i.e. very long or unusually coloured hair).


She should also ideally look like a passable 18+ year old, as then the audience would be more easily lead to believe she lived with a friend rather than parents, and this is quite crucial to the sense of isolation and danger that we will be playing on. Height shouldn't be too much of an issue however as there is no occassion for her to stand next to someone else which would show her relative height.
Some acting ability would be very useful obviously, but our narrative and camerawork ideas are such that an excess of skills in this area are not essential.

It is also most important that she will be able to put forward substantial dedication to this project, and be free on appropriate days.


List

• Steph
• Gaby
• Cathryn
• Ciara
• [group-any more suggestions?]
  

Test Shots

Gaby:

Pros: A-level drama student, good friend of me (angela) and steph.
Cons: Not free for test shoot this weekend (23rd-25th), also perhaps a little bit short/young for part?


Cathryn:


Pros: close geographical proximity to our location, looks good for the part; attractive yet quite approachable/relatable for some viewers.
Cons: conflict of time dedications (is also doing media a-level, hence is busy doing own project at the same time as us), limited acting ability.

Steph:

Pros: Dedication to project (in group), appropriate for role.
Cons: She wont be able to do as much of the filming as the rest of the group.

Ciara:

Pros: close geographical proximity to location, looks alright for part.

Cons: limited acting ability.

-Angela x

Location: when is it available?

I spoke to Rebecca and she expressed a preference for us to use her house on friday (23rd November), and also said that Saturday (24th November) would be very difficult because it's her sister's 21st birthday. I forgot to ask whether Sunday would be possible, but it also might be difficult. We could still use the outside of the house, however.

-Angela x

I spoke to Rebecca and she cannot do Saturday or Sunday due to Andrea's birthday party. But the other days for the rest of the filming weekends then we can use her house.
Steph

Meeting: Friday 16th November

Who attended: Nick, Zen, Angela, Steph (everyone).

Following the previous meeting, we continued developing our idea (idea 2) and focused more on what happens in the middle of it.

We decided that the inside of Rebecca's house would be ideal for our opening. The layout of the house fits into our sequence well. Here is a crude diagram of the layout of the house:




Adding to our idea (idea 2), we thought that there should be some kind of distraction that will play with the audiences mind and make the fact that the door is open less relevant. This could be done by having a cat making noises, a phone ringing or by appliances being left on overnight. We discussed the idea that the protagonist could be living with another girl, who she thinks comes into the house and slams the door. This is never seen and it will turn out that the person who slams the door is the kidnapper.

We thought about the way to introduce the kidnapper on screen. When the girl is in the bathroom, she is washing her face. The camera is positioned in typical thrilleresque fashion where it is an over the shoulder shot of the character looking into the mirror as they wash their face. This is where the villain is expected to appear, in the reflection of the mirror, as the girl bends down to wash her face but this is very cliché and we do not want it to be so obvious. An anti climax will come at this point as the audience will have anticipated the villain appearing, but he does not until the next couple of seconds.

We also discussed that it would be ideal to use ourselves as actors because it would make it easier for us to commit our time, rather than someone else who will have to commit to around five days of shooting. Other jobs, such as location shots, where also allocated.

-Nick

Meeting: Tuesday 13th November

Who attended: Nick, Zen, Angela, Steph (everyone).

We discussed the limitations of our first idea - that our ending lacked any sort of thrilleresque feeling - it was a bit plain and not very exciting if other people were in the house except the girl (the people in the corridor). Also being stabbed isn't exactly thriller if she is still alive.

We also brainstormed some new ideas and I've blogged this idea (Idea 2). We also had another idea which included the party idea still. Basically it was the same as idea one, but the party was also introduced via flashbacks which would be short and not very clear to begin with before getting longer and more detailed to help explain/set up the girl eventually being kidnapped like in the end of idea 2. Instead of there being another character as the victim, the main character/girl would be the victim/be kidnapped. However we decided against this idea really because flashbacks may be difficult to do and we would prefer to avoid them if possible.

We also discussed possible locations for idea two (my house would be good for the outside shot) and we are planning to take test shots of the locations to blog.

- Steph

Ideas

So far we've had a few ideas which I'll detail below. Also if we come up with anymore ideas/anyone has any, then I think just put them up here?

1st Idea.
The opening starts with a close up on a pack of cigarettes/a glass/bottle of alcoholic drink. The background is fuzzy but you can make out the shape of a body which reaches towards the drink/cigarettes and takes them. Then they sit up take a drink/drag on a cigarette, but you don't see their face clearly, only their lips down. Then she puts down the drink/stubs out the cigarette and swivels out of bed with her back to you.

The next shot is of her bare feet landing on the floor and the camera tracks from behind at ankle height following her to the door which she opens and the camera stops, tilting up slightly as you watch her pick her way down a hallway which is littered with the remnants of a party. These 'remnants' would be signified with empty drinks bottles/cans, some people asleep in the hallway (one or two), party streamers, a knocked over flower pot/broken table and shoes. The character is wearing a party dress.

Then we watch the character open the door at the end of the hallway halfway - this is matched when the camera cuts to inside a bathroom watching her open the door the rest of the way. She then proceeds to walk up to the camera and adjust her hair, taking off her makeup/washing her face using the mirror (which the camera is in place of). This is the first point when we see her face completely.

Then we have an over shoulder shot of a girl asleep on the floor and the character starts talking to them - laughing at how drunk the girl was the previous night - meanwhile the character continues to look in the mirror. When the girl doesn't reply she frowns and looks down at the girl who has a look of terror on her face. She crouches down to comfort her (over shoulder shot possibly?) and then she pulls back her hand as she realises it is covered in blood which has soaked through the girls clothes from a stab wound.

2nd Idea.
It is dark/night time and in a countryside setting (at least quite secluded). A car pulls up with its headlights on facing the camera. A girl gets out, dressed up and obviously drunk, she thanks the driver for the lift and says goodbye to her other friends in the car before staggering away down her driveway towards the front door (the door wouldn't be in view, it would preferably be at the side of the house, out of shot).

Then the car pulls away past the camera which is quite shaky and front the point of view of someone although we don't know who. This shot could also be an over the shoulder shot of someone hiding watching the previous event happen.

Next the camera moves around the corner (a fence or bush) from the point of view of the character watching the girl or as an over the shoulder shot of this character.

The next shot is closer to the girl and of her struggling to find her keys then open her front door and we see her closing the front door from the inside or at least pushing it too and it seeming to close.

At this point the original idea of the cigarette/drink shot of the girl waking up and getting out of bed and then walking towards the bathroom - although this time there wouldn't be anything to do with a party in the hallway, her clothes from the previous night would be strewn down the hallway and she would be dressed in a baggy t-shirt as a nightdress, her clothes left where she had left them as she got undressed on the way to bed the night before.

So she picks her way towards the bathroom but this time there is a shot from in front of her and as she walks closer to the camera there is a pan to the front door which is still open from the night before, she hadn't closed it properly.

So there is a shot of the door opening (although possibly her turning the handle and opening it slightly) and the next shot is from inside the bathroom of her opening the door the rest of the way (the two shots would have to match up). She again uses the camera as a mirror and goes to wash her face (an over the shoulder shot may be needed to establish that this is what she is doing). As she lifts her face up from washing her face she is grabbed from behind with someones hand over her mouth (the hand would be in a leather glove).

Basically the main character is the girl and she is watched from outside her house the previous night before being kidnapped the next day. The intruder gets in via her front door which she didn't close properly. By not obviously leaving the front door open it stops the audience from guessing what will happen next.

It would cut immediately to the title screen and that is how the sequence would end.


Note to group: This is just what I can remember from the ideas and they've pretty much come from my blog. So if anyone wants to edit them with stuff they remember or stuff I've got wrong then go ahead. And also as I said in top: any more ideas then just put them up here? - Steph