Preliminary task evaluation

The purpose of this task was to experience the editing software in our own individual groups, giving us more independence than the class preliminary. Through this we could experiment with many more angles and shots which, once learnt how to shoot successfully, we can use when producing our final film. A selection of our shots included match on action, shot reverse shot, over the shoulder and long shot. Using a variety of shots allowed us to make the sequence a more interesting for the audience rather than consistently using one angle throughout.

A difficulty we found was the lack of experience we had with the editing program, premiere pro, this limited our ability to explore many different editing techniques such as use of audio. If i were to repeat this task i would have added other audio than the existing dialogue, this would be both ambient sound and a non-diagetic soundtrack to set the mood of the scene and build upon the mysterious narrative. A further limitation with the advanced program was our inability to change the colouring to increase the contrast and saturation, making the footage more cinematic and producing  a serious, professional looking scene.  Another difficulty  we faced was making our footage continuous when editing as some shots didn't flow from one scene to the next and it made it obvious when there was a shot change. 

When producing our preliminary film we did not plan out our scenes or locations so we were limited to filming in school which we attempted to make less obvious when filming in the toilet cubicle. An issue which occurred as a result of us not planning effectively or producing a storyboard meant we started to film irrelevant scenes, which took up a considerable amount of our filming time and it made it harder to have the consistency of the narrative throughout as our scenes were predominantly improvised. 

Through this task i have learnt how to use the editing program more effectively and i now know the importance in planning ahead with the use of a storyboard. This will therefore be a more effective use of my time as i can follow the scenes planned and use a variety of shots.  Planning my scenes would consequently make it easier to achieve a continuous, invisible editing, meaning no scene changes would be obvious to the audience, use of video transitions would help to assist this

Group Preliminary Film

Costume, Props and Make Up

I will be using costume to portray to the audience the mood of the scene and suggest the intentions and position of the characters for example if they are good or bad. This will be suggested through what they are wearing, the props they possess and the colour connotations from their clothing.

The two main characters, one evil one good will be juxtaposed by the difference in costume, this will represent their contrasting personalities.

The evil character, as portrayed here, will be wearing all black. This includes a black hoodie, jeans and boots, these items have been chosen to conceal the identity of the character  which ensures that this particular character is disconnected from the audience. This makes the male more intimidating and suggest to the audience that he has bad intentions and should be feared. The only prop which this character will have is a weapon such as a knife which would connote that the character intends to do harm. As males don't stereotypically wear make up this character does not require the make up to conform to the stereotypes. The hair will be covered by the hood from the costume however it will also cover the face of the male to conceal his identity.

The protagonists costume in the scene where the photos are being developed is predominantly made up from neutral colours and is very causal, a simple top and jeans with converse for footwear. This costume has brands with which the audience can relate however, the neutral colours mean that the audience cannot decipher whether the character is good or bad, as we want to keep this as a mystery to build suspense and create confusion. The clothing will be simple and are similar to the clothing which the audience demographic would typically wear so the character is easier to relate to. A prop which the protagonist will carry is the camera which is relevant and significant in the storyline. The hair and make up will reflect the costume and will be kept very simple and neutral, with the make up being minimal eyeliner and skin make up.

However, this costume changes where the protagonist is taking the photos in the park the costume is bright and made up of light colours this is to represent the character as innocent. These contrasting colours between scenes show a change in the characters personality and intentions. This makes the audience question why the representation of the character has altered this reflects the change of mood and seriousness of the story line





The dog walkers costume will consist of typical walking clothing including a hat, scarf, gloves and muddy clothing. The colour of these will hold little significance as the character does not have a big role in the scene. The hair of the character will be tied back to ensure that the facial expression can be clearly viewed when the character is being abducted.

Location Recce

We have decided for one of our locations to be set in a dark room where photos will be developed, we will be using the dark room at school as it will be easy to gain consent to use however using the dark room creates an environment which will not be obvious to the audience that it has been shot in a school. The room will be used as it is relevant to our story and will allow the audience to have a better understanding, building upon the story line.

 If we record after school hours there is a reduced risk of getting other students in the scene which we want to avoid as it would create a more serious, tense atmosphere if the character is isolated in the room. Being located in the school means that filming is very convenient and less time consuming.

Our second location in the opening sequence is in St Louis Meadow Park which is located in Banbury, Cherwell heights. We have chosen to use this park for convenience as it is easily accessible for all of our actors.

The park is surrounded by a wooded area which we will also be using as a location because woods are often associated with a possible risk of danger, this is relevant to our story and adds to the tension and suspense in the scene due to the danger involved. When filming we will also ensure that the park is empty, filming at times in the early evening when the park is less likely to be used having an empty park will make the location eerie and add to the thriller aspect of our film. The park also has a set of swings which we intended to use when creating our storyboard, using the symbolism of innocence in the swing contrasted against the idea of danger and the occurring event of a kidnaping.

Casting mindmap

Call for Actors

We are looking for a female character to play 'Phoebe' in our film production, this character is a student aged 17 so you must be around a similar age to this. This role will not include any dialogue however we will require you to be able to show great expression on your face as we will be using many close up shots which will show these. The character will be mysterious with a slightly uneasy/ crazy personality. She will have to be physically fit, thin and defenceless, they have blue eyes with long blonde straight hair and will be of medium height. The clothing will be casual, this being black jeans, a patterned top and converse all of the colours will be neutral and dark . Props would include a camera.

We are looking for another actor who will play our male character 'Terrance' he is a serious and dangerous male who takes on the bad character role in the opening sequence. You will have to be aged around the age of 20, fairly tall with a broad and muscular structure We require the actor to have an unshaven/ unclean look with dark black or brown hair and dark eyes. The costume would be all black with a black boots, jeans and hoodie, with the hood up to conceal the face. This character has no character and as the identity is concealed there will be no need for the actors face to be in shot however the character still needs an intimidating profile who has a sense of danger about them. Props would include a fake weapon, this may be a knife or blunt object.

Our final actor who is needed will only have a minimal role in the scene and they are a dog walker who is predominantly used for background shots.  The character will be female who is a young adult who is small with a weak frame. The costume is a typical walking clothing with hat, scarf, gloves all clothing is muddy. The character has limited dialogue, they are only required to scream when being attacked, there is also not a lot of acting for this actor in the scene as they are often used in the background.

Narrative

Our narrative is non linear because we have a flash back at the beginning which allows the audience to see what happened in the past so they can understand the storyline. We have done this to create confusion and build upon the mystery within our genre. The flashback will be indicating through the use of editing, changing the saturation on the image so it is obvious the event occurred in a different time period. The film will be non linear as the flashback will change narrative structure, this will make our opening sequence more interesting as the audience are witnessing tow different time periods and events in a short amount of time

Regarding Todorov's  theory on narrative we have decided to go against this, meaning our film doesn't start off with the equilibrium we start of with the disruption of the equilibrium which is the flashback. The resolution of the disruption is shown in the rest of the film. We have decided to do this so that our film doesn't follow the common narrative of a thriller, therefore making it unique and different to other films of this genre, appealing to a mass audience.