Foley

The Foley Technique, named after creator, Jack Foley, is the process of recording sound and adding it in during post production. Footsteps, clothes rustling, doors opening/closing, hitting and walking are usually added through Foley. Foley artists must watch the footage that they are adding sound to, this is to ensure that the sound effects are in time with the visuals. We want to use Foley to add multiple sound effects, for example, we want a ticking noise to play at various moments in the film opening as well as the sound of running water whilst the character develops photographs in the darkroom. We may add footsteps if the camera doesn't capture the audio well enough. Below is a video showing Foley artists at work:

Filming - Day 2

We continued filming in the dark room today so that we could finish a few more shots of our title sequence. It was a successful shoot and we managed to film two more of our titles. The lighting in the darkroom is an ongoing issue, it has been difficult to get enough light in order to read the cut out letters that form our titles, however, we realised that colour played a large part in the legibility, with red and pink not showing up on camera under the red lights. We swapped these red letters for others in order to overcome the problem.

Here is one of our shots. Our title appears on the wall whilst the light flickers in the dark, providing brief flashes where the words are legible. This helps to create an uncomfortable atmosphere and is in keeping with our genre of psychological thriller. The idea of 'flashes' is a recurring theme throughout our two minute film opening as we plan to have extremely quick flashes appear of one of our character's victims. The  flashes also hint at our character's unstable mental state.

Another one of our titles appears on a cupboard as the main character opens it. It was quite difficult to light this shot as the words needed to be legible, however, too much light caused a reflection on the glossy magazine surface when the cupboard opened. We managed to overcome the problem, we had to compromise, meaning that the shot was slightly darker than we had intended.

 

On the left shows some clutter that we needed to get out of shot as we felt that it was too distracting. If we need to re-film today's footage or get any new shots, we will need to ensure that we remove these objects again for continuity. On the right is a poster that we had to remove from the cupboard in order to place our title, there were many more posters in shot that we had to remove as, not only were they distracting, but it didn't make sense for a professional photographer, like our character, to need instructions on how to develop photographs all over the room. Here is our vlog from today:

 

Heinz Advert

This Heinz advert is a great example of jump cuts and various other techniques. Each shot is extremely still, with no movement of the camera, this helps to make the overall look of the advert clean and polished, this is enforced by the seamless and smooth pans and tilts. The jump cuts make it feel fast paced, with each shot only lasting between one and two seconds, this is an idea that appeals to our group as we want to film in a coffee shop and, in order to capture the busy atmosphere, want to include several quick shots. This advert has provided a lot of inspiration due to the various shots, some wider than others and some really close-up, this helps to keep the viewer interested, I also like the way depth of field has been shown, with objects becoming more out of focus the further away from the camera they get.

Breaking Bad - Shot Inspiration

Whilst watching the television series 'Breaking Bad', I noticed some very interesting shots that I would like to include in our two minute film opening. The camera has been placed in various objects, looking out at the character, almost like a point of view shot from an inanimate object. I think that, by including a similar shot in our opening, we will have a wider range of camera angles, making it more exciting and making it stand out. I think that this type of shot will fit in well in the darkroom scene where the main character is developing photographs as she will be interacting with multiple objects, for example, pouring chemicals and opening cupboards.

 

 

 

First Day of Filming

We started filming today! We're really pleased with the shots that we got, considering this was our first time. We focused only on our title sequence as we needed access to the darkroom, something that we don't have outside of school. Hopefully we will continue filming tomorrow and will complete the title sequence by the end of the week.

Our Storyboard

Here is our storyboard for our two minute film opening. We feel like we have included a wide range of camera shots and angles, hopefully making our opening look more interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

Test Filming

We thought that it was crucial to carry out some tests so that it will be easier when we start filming. As the darkroom has limited light it is sometimes difficult for the camera to pick up details, resulting in a silhouette-like image. In our test, we experimented with different lighting, primarily using the torches built into our phones, we think that this is the best option as the light provided is not too bright. At 0:41 in the video we were trying to capture the ticking sound of the timer as this is an element that we would like to include in our two minute opening, I think that the camera captures the sound quite well, we are hoping to add the sound during post production. At this point in the video, we also experimented with strobe lighting, we quite like the effect as it is quite uncomfortable and disorientating for the viewer which helps add to the mysterious atmosphere that we want to create. We then practised a few shots to ensure that the lighting was okay. Lastly we tested one of our titles, we are hopefully going to film the full title sequence tomorrow.

Conventions of a Psychological Thriller

It is important that we look at existing films of the same genre and to research the conventions in order to create a film that conforms to the genre of psychological thriller. I have found a helpful presentation on SlideShare that contains a lot of useful information that can inspire us when planning our film opening:

 

Title Sequence Update

Jane has wondrously cut out our first title! There'll be plenty more to come soon!

  

We have decided that we want the following titles to appear in our opening:

 

.Starring Emily Field

.Directed By Elle Nash

.Edited By Charlotte Huckett

.Written By Jane Kaprata

.Production Design By ......

 

The names may not necessarily appear with the roles shown above but we are definitely going to use our own names, we'll need to think of a fifth one if we plan to do five titles.

 

I really like the magazine cuttings as I feel that the lack of consistency in font style and colour reflects the character's dissociative personality. There is an element of chaos and mystery that I find very interesting.

 

I have researched on Wikipedia and watched multiple title sequences to find the correct order in which titles should appear (I have highlighted the titles we want to use):

 

.Name of studio

.Name of production company

.Producer's name

.Starring

.Casting by

.Music by

.Edited by

.Production design by

.Directror of photography

.Produced by

.Written by

.Directed by 

Dissociative Identity Disorder in Film

A character suffering from dissociative identity disorder has been portrayed in many films, here is an article listing 'The 15 Best Movies About Multiple Personality Disorder'.

One of my favourite films on the list is 'Fight Club', a film about an insomniac who meets a soap salesman. The two men start a 'fight club', allowing people to fight recreationally, the club eventually becomes an anti-materialist, anti-corporate organisation. We later learn that these two men are dissociated personalities in the same body.

Throughout the film there are extremely quick, 'blink and you'll miss it', flashes that appear on screen. I think that these flashes show the fragile mind of the character, adding an element of confusion for the audience. This is an idea that our group was inspired by, we hope to incorporate similar flashes in our two minute opening.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

As our main character that will be featured in our film opening suffers from dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder), I thought that it would be necessary to research the disorder in order to create a lifelike, believable character. The following two links were extremely informative:

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder

http://psychcentral.com/lib/dispelling-myths-about-dissociative-identity-disorder/0009785

Below is a summary of the main points.

Dissociative identity disorder is a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions or sense of identity. It is thought to be caused by a traumatic experience, the dissociative aspect being a coping mechanism.

Symptoms:

.The presence of two or more distinct or split personalities, each of which have their own age, sex or race.
.Inability to recall key personal information
.Depression
.Mood swings
.Suicidal tendencies
.Sleep disorders
.Anxiety, panic attacks, phobias
.Amnesia
.Time loss
.Trances
.'Out of body' experiences

DID is treated with therapy, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy. There are no medication treatments.

0.1% - 1% of the population suffers from dissociative personality disorder.

It is possible to not know that you have the disorder.

The main symptoms that our group has decided to focus on are amnesia, time loss and trances. This is because we want our character to be confused and unaware of her other 'life' as a killer.

Female Killers in Film

The plot of our film is a young, female photographer, suffering from multiple personality disorder, that is also a serial killer, her victims being primarily male. We are hoping to subvert gender roles and the usual character types seen in films.

In IMDb's 'Top 22 Horror Movie Serial Killers', all but one of the characters are male, demonstrating the proliferation of dominant male characters, all of which are seen, especially within the horror/thriller genre, as powerful and threatening. Women are usually portrayed as victims, being submissive and fragile, the characters in our film completely break away from these conventions, the female lead exerting her power and preying on males, showing their vulnerability.



 

Freddy Krueger -
A Nightmare on Elm Street

 

Hannibal Lecter -
Silence of the Lambs

 

Jack Torrance -
The Shining



        












Female killers in film are presented very differently to their male counterparts, in almost all cases, the women turn to crime after experiencing a trauma, the most common being sexual abuse. Vengeance is a recurring theme in these films, the female characters seeking out their abusers, this shows that even in films with a female lead, men still have important roles. The men are still shown as dominant in these abusive situations, however, the women are able to retaliate and a more sinister side of them is brought out. Below are a few examples of female killers in film that adhere to this archetype:

Jennifer Spencer (Sudden Impact) -
After she and her sister are raped, Jennifer Spencer seeks revenge and murders one of her attackers.

Aileen Wuornos (Monster) -
A prostitute kills a client in self defence after being raped, she then goes on a killing spree, murdering clients and stealing their money.

Mallory Knox (Natural Born Killers) -
The film is about Mallory Knox and her husband Mickey, two serial killers. Mallory had a neglectful mother and sexually abusive father, both of whom she murdered after meeting Mickey.

Mrs Mott/Peyton Flanders (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) -
After her husband commits suicide following sexual assault allegations, Mrs Mott also loses her baby. She seeks revenge on the woman, and her family, that made the allegations by becoming her nanny 'Peyton Flanders' and attempting to kill her. Mrs Mott's attempt is unsuccessful, killing another woman instead.

Carrie White (Carrie) -
Carrie White is relentlessly bullied at school and seeks revenge at her prom after being drenched with blood, killing the majority of students and staff in attendance. She later returns home to her abusive mother who stabs Carrie in the back, Carrie then uses her telekinetic powers to murder her mother also.



We want our character to differ from these female killers. We have decided that we don't want our character to have an abusive past or be looking for revenge, we want her motive for killing to be simple - because she enjoys it. I think that this makes her more fearsome and intriguing as there isn't a clear reason for her violent side, making her a more mysterious character.

Title Sequence Ideas

As a group we have decided that our opening credits will appear in a sequence of their own, this will take place entirely in the dark room. We want to incorporate our titles in real life - having them appear physically in the fictitious world of our film instead of adding them during post-production, we hope to use letters cut out of magazines and placed in various locations in the dark room.

Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and award winning filmmaker, he designed many title sequences during his career, some of which are thought to be among the best in the history of film. Here is a useful link to a website that contains stills from all of the films he has worked on:

http://annyas.com/screenshots/saul-bass-title-sequences/

Two of his sequences particularly stand out to me as they follow the same idea of physically including the titles. In 'West Side Story', the titles appear written on a wall whilst in 'That's Entertainment, Part II' they appear in various ways, such as in books, written in sand or on an old cash register.





“For the average audience, the credits tell them there’s only three minutes left to eat popcorn. I take this ‘dead’ period and try to do more than simply get rid of names that filmgoers aren’t interested in.
I aim to set up the audience for what’s coming; make them expectant.”

I really like this quote from Saul Bass as it emphasises the importance of a title sequence. They should be exciting for the audience and serve as a 'taster' for the rest of the film, in terms of style and content. It is for this reason that we chose to use magazine cuttings, we think that they add an element of mystery that is in keeping with our character's personality, they are also more interesting to look at instead of plain text in the bottom corner of a frame like in many films.

Another film that served as inspiration was 'Napoleon Dynamite', below are stills from the title sequence:

I think that this is a very interesting and clever way to incorporate titles. The bright colours and trivial subject matter help to create a humorous atmosphere, although this is in contrast to the mood we wish to create, it still helped us to generate ideas.