Final Post

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4 Minutes - Final Draft

Here is the final draft of our two minute film opening, '4 Minutes':

Quick Update Vlog

Here is our very quick vlog from today:

Two Minute Film Opening - Finally Finished!

Today we finally finished our two minute film opening, '4 Minutes'. There were only a few things that we needed to change/refine, for example, we adjusted the volume of certain clips to make it more consistent, so that there were no unintentional sudden loud parts. We had to change the background noise in Starbucks slightly as it began to sound a bit repetitive due to the fact that we had the same audio playing on a loop throughout the scene. We are extremely happy with the final outcome, we feel that it captures the mysterious, slightly eerie atmosphere perfectly as well as telling the story that we wanted to.

The group in the editing process

Here is our celebratory vlog:

Editing and Foley

We continued editing our two minute film opening today, focusing mainly on sound. We needed to adjust the volume of the Starbucks scene as well as the darkroom scene. Due to the fact that we previously detached the audio from the Starbucks shots in order to replace it with a constant background noise that flowed well, we needed to use Foley to add in certain sounds. We had to record to sound of me typing on a keyboard as well as putting the camera on the table. It was very successful and we managed to record clear sound, it was quite difficult to get it in time with the footage, but, after a few tweaks, we managed to do it perfectly. Here is a video of our Foley experience:

Audience Feedback 2

We asked more people to watch our two minute film opening today. We have made some changes since our first audience feedback video, taking on the advice given, for example, we have removed the 'flashes' of Elle, changed the font of the '4 Minutes' title (to American Typewrite), as well as making some minor adjustments to the sound and order of shots. We feel like these changes have drastically improved our film opening, making it look more professional.

First Draft - Audience Feedback

We decided to show a few people the first draft of our film opening, filming their reactions and gaining feedback. We thought that this was important as we can see how our target audience responds to the film. We showed it to people that didn't know what our opening was about in order to see whether they understood the narrative and to obtain unbiased feedback. For the most part, it was positive feedback, we were told that the storyline was clear and that our titles were cleverly incorporated, however, one viewer said that we should change the font of our '4 Minutes' title as it was too plain, another pointed out a section where our voices are audible in the background. This was extremely beneficial as our group hadn't noticed some of the mistakes that the viewer's picked up on. We are now able to make adjustments to our opening to improve it.

4 Minutes - First Draft

Here is our first draft of our film opening '4 Minutes'. We are happy with the title sequence and most of the darkroom scene at the end. The section in Starbucks still needs to be refined, there are a few sudden jumps where the shots haven't been edited properly, we also need to make the background noise quieter. Hopefully after these changes have been made, we will be finished.

Filming Finished!

We have finally finished filming! As I mentioned in my previous post, we needed a couple more shots of our main character in Starbucks in order to make the narrative flow better. Luckily, Starbucks wasn't busy, we managed to get the exact shots that we needed - an over-the-shoulder shot of my character looking out of the window as well as a mid-close up of the same thing. We uploaded our footage and added in one of our shots to our film opening, it immediately made a difference and we are now happy with the scene.

Editing

We have completely finished editing our title sequence, taking up half of the time allowed for our opening. We need to finish editing the Starbucks scene, however, before we can do that, we need to film a few more shots, this is because whilst we watched our footage back, it was quite confusing, we don't think that our audience will be able to follow the storyline. We decided that we only need one or two shots, hopefully this can be completed by the end of the week.

The whole group stayed after school to continue editing, we have almost finished the darkroom scene at the end of our opening. One of our main priorities right now is sound, we need to adjust the volume of certain clips as well as add sound through the use of Foley. We recorded a ticking noise that we want to play throughout the darkroom section, creating an agitated atmosphere, symbolising the character's fragile mind. Unfortunately, Elle had to leave slightly earlier, the rest of the group started to adjust the audio. The background noise in Starbucks is slightly distracting in some of our clips as there is music playing, this is inconsistent throughout the scene as the shots were filmed at different times, thus the music changes between each shot. To fix this problem, we decided to find one of our shots that is quite long and has a good amount of background noise, we then detached the audio and replaced the audio of the clips used in the opening. Below is a vlog showing us in the editing process:

Darkroom - Developing Photos and Filming

Today we were planning to film in Starbucks, however, it was too busy so we decided to finish filming in the darkroom. After developing our film yesterday, we needed to develop individual photographs, in total we have four - three scenic shots taken at Forty Hall and one of the murder victim. We wanted the Forty Hall pictures to look very peaceful and natural to juxtapose the brutality of the crime committed by our main character. We put a lot of thought into the images that we wanted as we needed the props to look authentic so as to not distract the audience and take them out of the moment. Below, on the left shows the enlarging process, on the right is the final photograph.

We also had to film me developing some of the photographs as well as film a few shots around the darkroom to create a mysterious atmosphere, to introduce the audience to the location. Our two minute opening is split into three distinct sections, the first is the title sequence which takes place in the darkroom, the second is in Starbucks and the third is in the darkroom again, developing photographs. It proved to be quite difficult whilst we were editing to make the transition between each location seamless, to make the opening flow better. We needed to make the transition between Starbucks and the darkroom less jarring. We decided to make the final shot in Starbucks nearly identical to the first shot in the darkroom. Below is the shot in Starbucks:

We had to re-film this shot in the darkroom various times as we wanted the angle of the camera to match perfectly.

Title Sequence - Final Day of Filming

We finished filming our title sequence today. We had to re-film the 'Starring Emily Field' title as our original shot was not of a high enough standard, the lighting was completely different to the rest of the title sequence, making it very distracting. The clear plastic bag that we used to protect the letters in the tray of water was visible throughout the shot, we felt that this was not a reflection of our best work.

Initially, we placed the cut out magazine letters, that spell out the title, on the floor. We then wanted a close up shot of my feet walking past, zooming in on the letters. This was very difficult to do because we could not light the shot correctly, leaving the title illegible.

 Instead, we decided to film the title under the light of the enlarger, a machine used to enlarge and develop photographs. We like this shot more because it shows the audience more of the technical aspects of the darkroom, helping to make our character and opening more believable. We also had to re-film a shot of a timer counting down from 4 minutes, alluding to the title of our film. The original shot was too dark to see the numbers properly, we used more light this time.
 

Our new shot

Filming the timer



We then had to develop our film that contained photographs of the main character's victim. We are hoping to develop individual photographs soon so that we can film me looking through them, creating a more eerie atmosphere as the audience realises that the main character is a murderer and that the photographs are of a dead person. Developing the film was quite difficult, it needed to be in complete darkness so that the film strip didn't react with light whilst we took it out of the camera. We eventually managed to get the film into the developing tank and could continue the easier part of pouring in the chemicals with the light on.

Measuring the chemicals

The developed film

Here is our vlog from the shoot:

Forty Hall Update

Unfortunately, we have decided to scrap the Forty Hall scene. After uploading our footage and editing it, we felt that three locations (Darkroom, Starbucks, Forty Hall) were too many to fit into a two minute film opening. The footage didn't flow well from location to location, we feel that the darkroom and Starbucks scenes are the most important, thus our decision to eliminate the Forty Hall section. It was a difficult decision to make because we put so much time and effort into filming at Forty Hall, we have many great shots that we love, but ultimately, they just don't fit in with the rest of the film opening.

Epidemic Sound

As we couldn't use the music from the 'Se7en' opening credits, we tried to find something that sounded similar. Thankfully, we found the website Epidemic Sound which offers un-copyrighted music readily available to download. We were able to browse their collection with the help of useful filters that made it easier to find the right song based on genre. We found a song that sounds extremely similar to the one in 'Se7en', we downloaded it and added it to our film opening in iMovie and we are all very pleased with how it looks and sounds.

The Epidemic Sound menu

Copyright Laws

According to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of public editions have the right to control the ways in which their material can be used. It is an offence to perform the following acts without the consent of the owner:

. Copy the work
. Rent, lend or issue copies of the work to the public
. Perform, broadcast or show the work in public
. Adapt the work

Copyright usually lasts for 70 years following the death of the owner. For these reasons we are unable to use the music from the 'Se7en' opening credits.

Title Sequence - First Draft

Today we began editing our title sequence. We felt that it was too quite, making it look boring, so we decided to add the music from the 'Se7en' opening credits. Due to copyright laws, we will be unable to use this song, we are hoping to find something that sounds very similar to use instead. The dark lighting paired with the music creates an eerie atmosphere, making it look unsettling as well as adding intrigue as it is not clear who our character is or what she is doing. We like that our shots are in time with the music, with cuts happening with the beat, this makes the scene feel natural, allowing the audience to enjoy the opening without being distracted by out of place audio. We need to add in two more of our titles, one of which we are hoping to re-film next week, as well as editing a few of the shots so that they flow better. Here is our first draft:

Starbucks - Final Shoot

Today we finally finished filming in Starbucks. We had wanted to film previously, however, we could not always get the same seat, this was important as the shots needed to be identical for continuity reasons. It wasn't too busy today so we were able to film easily. We only needed one more shot - the victim walking past the window normally, without blood, this is so that we can achieve the 'flashing' effect when we edit the footage.

Above, on the left, is our original shot of the victim walking past with blood. We needed to place the camera in the right position today so that the background of both shots match. On the right is the shot from today, we feel that the shots look near identical, this was very important because we don't want the background to suddenly change when the 'flashes' of the victim appear.

Makeup, Murder and Media

Today we filmed Elle, one of our main character's victims, walking past Starbucks in full makeup - bruised and bloodied. Our aim is to film her again but looking normal, we will then have fast shots, or flashes, appear of her with the blood, this is to provide an insight in to the main character's mind, showing the way her mind works. The audience is able to see her thoughts as she visualises a murder. The flashes will be used to create a disorientating atmosphere and to show the fragile mind of the killer.

 

Elle did a great job doing her own makeup, using fake blood, and dark eye shadow to give the appearance of dark, sunken eyes, making her look dead.

On the left is a photo of Elle walking past Starbucks, we filmed from inside looking out of the window, this was to make the shot look like it is from the point-of-view of our main character. On the right shows Elle on the floor. We took photographs of her using our video camera but also on a film camera so that we can develop the photo and include it in our opening, our idea being that our main character takes photographs after killing her victims.

We also took more photographs of her standing up, this is so that we can insert these into our film opening as quick flashes, possibly signifying that our main character's actions are haunting her. Below are our vlogs:


 

Developing the Characters' Personalities

We want our two characters, killer and victim, to contrast each other as much as possible. We want the victim to appear weak, nervous and vulnerable, not only to gain sympathy from the audience, but to make a realistic target for the killer. Body language plays a huge role in the way that we perceive people, we felt that we could show the characters' personalities in this way.

In AskMen's 'Top 10: Ways To Show Confidence With Body Language', we found that having your hands in your pockets is a symbol of nervousness. We have decided that when the victim walks past the window in Starbucks, she should have her hands in her pockets to highlight her lack of confidence.

The list also states that good, straight posture, good grooming and sitting still (not fidgeting) are signs of confidence. These are all things that our main character can do in order to appear stronger.

Victim Change

As we are unhappy with our shots of our male victim, we have decided to use a female instead. We feel that Elle is the best person for the role as, not only is she in the group, therefore making filming easier, but she has a very different appearance to our main character, played by me. We think that her blond hair contrasts my dark hair, creating a more clear divide in the characters' personalities. We are planning for her to wear a white t-shirt so that her overall look is lighter, giving the impression of innocence compared to my dark hair and darker clothing that symbolises the protagonist's sinister behaviour.

We are continuing our idea of filming the victim walking past the window in Starbucks, once covered in blood and once normally so that we can add 'flashes' when we edit the footage. We also need to take photographs of the victim using a film camera so that we can film the protagonist developing them in the darkroom.

Filming in Starbucks - Day 2

We were filming in Starbucks again today, trying to get the shot of our victim walking past. We tried to do his makeup, covering his face with fake blood, however, due to our unfortunate makeup skills, the blood looked extremely fake. We aren't too happy with our footage and think that we're going to need to re-film.

We also took photographs of the victim so that the protagonist can develop them later on.

 

Filming in Starbucks

We filmed in Starbucks today whilst it wasn't busy so that we had enough space and so that we did not disturb customers. The shoot went really well, we managed to get all of the shots that we needed and, after uploading the footage to the mac, we were extremely happy with the clarity of the shots and with the background noise captured as it helped to add to the busy, cafe atmosphere that we wanted to acheive.

Above are photos from the shoot. On the left, Charlotte and Elle are setting up the camera, on the right is a photo of me getting ready for filming. In this scene, our main character is shown at Starbucks on her laptop. We want a series of quick shots to capture the busy atmosphere. We are hoping that the bright, fresh feel of these shots will create a contrast to the shots in the darkroom which are a lot more serious.

Elle and Jane setting up outside in the cold whilst Charlotte and I wait inside! We tried to get a shot looking through the window showing our character, unfortunately, due to the reflection of Elle and Jane, we were unable to use the shot. 

Starbucks - Filming Location

For one scene in our two minute film opening, we are planning to film in Starbucks. We want a modern, exciting location that will contrast the darkroom and Forty Hall, emphasising the main character's drastically opposite personalities. We chose the Starbucks in Enfield Town, not only for its accessibility, meaning that we can easily re-film if necessary, but also because it has a large window that overlooks a quite road - perfect for our victim to walk past. We want someone to walk past the window for our main character to look at, we are then hoping to create 'flashes' of the person covered in blood, showing the main character's thought process and giving the audience a glimpse into her mind. Below is a photograph of the outside of the building showing the long window and the road on the right:

87th Acadamy Awards Nominations

Today, the nominations for the 2015 Oscars were finally released. Here is an article from The Washington Post with a full list, complete with comments, opinions and a few predictions:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/01/15/2015-oscar-nominations-complete-coverage/

We'll have to wait until February 22nd 2015 for the results!

Mac 4 - Filming and Vlog

Today we filmed in the darkroom to get the remainder of the shots needed for our title sequence. It went really well and we managed to do it quite quickly. We experimented more with different angles this time, for example, we had a really high angle from the corner of the room and we also put the camera in a cupboard to get the view below:

Here is a photograph from the shoot showing us in action. The shots today provide more of an insight into the character's job as a photographer, by adding these in the title sequence, we hope that there will be a clear story that audiences will understand. Below is our vlog from the shoot:

Age Certificate

We have decided that our film should have an age certificate of 15. We researched what is permitted in a 15, as well as in an 18, on the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) website, to see which category we think our film fits into.

The website states that a 15 may contain -

• strong violence
•  frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
•   portrayals of sexual activity
•   strong verbal references to sex
•   sexual nudity
•   brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
•   discriminatory language or behaviour
•   drug taking

An 18 may contain -

  very strong violence

  frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)

  strong portrayals of sexual activity

  scenes of sexual violence

  strong horror

  strong blood and gore

  real sex (in some circumstances)

  discriminatory language and behaviour

Although our film has a violent storyline, with a serial killer main character, I don't think that it would contain very strong violence, we want to focus less on gory crime and more on the psychological aspects. We feel that our film does not meet the requirements to be considered an 18.

Forty Hall - Filming

Today we filmed at Forty Hall, taking advantage of the good weather. I think that it went really well and, hopefully, we managed to get all of the shots we needed, we will review our footage once we upload it to our Mac in order to see if any adjustments or reshoots need to be done.

            

These are photographs that we took whilst at Forty Hall, showing the great weather. The forecast initially said that it was going to rain today so when we saw the blue skies, we changed our plan of filming at Starbucks and took the opportunity. As there were no clouds, there was plenty of light so that our shots did not look too dark, the sunshine also illuminated the lake and made the whole atmosphere feel more relaxed, this is crucial to our story as we do not want these scenes outside of the darkroom to feel sinister.

            

On the left is Elle and Jane setting up the camera and adjusting the shot whilst I look over the storyboard to ensure that we know how many shots we need to get done. On the right is our set-up camera filming a different shot, framed by Elle, Charlotte and Jane, you can see me walking on the very left of the frame. We tried to film in as many different areas of Forty Hall as was possible in order to keep the shots interesting and non-repetitive.

Here is our vlog from the day:

Forty Hall - Our Filming Location

We have decided that we want to film our character taking photos in a calm, picturesque environment, it is for this reason that we have chosen to film at Forty Hall. It is an ideal location as it has a beautiful house that overlooks a lake, juxtaposing the natural area and the busy coffee shop that we also hope to film in. This harsh contrast mimics the two, very different, personalities of our character. Forty Hall is also easily accessible for the whole group, allowing us to return there if we need to reshoot anything.