Evaluation question 7

Evaluation question 6

Evaluation questions 4 and 5

Evaluation question 3

Evaluation question 2

Evaluation question 1

Main brief finished

Main brief SMILE finished video

Mini brief finished video

Production schedule

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE Week 1: Narrative planning- creating brainstorm with initial ideas which were then converted into the main brief initial idea. Logo design - logo designed on paper at first and the converted into a real design using Adobe Photoshop CS6. Looked at after film logo designs to get ideas on good logos. Credits- Research into credits which sparked ideas of what our own credits could look like. Later on created using Adobe after effects. Storyboard and script writing- after creating the initial idea we created our script and character list which helped to make the creation of the storyboard easier. Week 2: Research into sound (other products and own)- Research into horror film sound and what created a good emotion in the film. Found warranty free sound websites to download sound for our own film once eventually filmed. Interview questions and interview for roles- created interview questions for the role of the news reporter reader in the film and carried out filmed interviews with two potential candidates. Recce pictures- took pictures of potential locations for filming and made a decision on where would be the best place to film based on what we could use in our narrative. Character analysis- Created the breakdown for the characters involved in our films and their specific personalities etc. Week 3: Film voice over of news report which will later on be added to the film to make the narrative appear as if it is a real life situation. Filmed a few takes in order to get the best quality possible.

Half –term Week 4: Make up and prop research- Research into iconography and make up in famous horror films. Make up research of clowns in order to get the best possible result and to make the clown as scary as possible. Filming- filming to take place in order to give us time for potential re-film and editing time. Filming to take place at 17:00 to make sure the lighting outside is not too dark, but just dark enough to create and eerie tone. Editing of film and gather feedback- Edit the film together with sound roughly in accordance to how we want it to look and gain feedback from target audience so that we can change the film based on how they want it to appear. Week 5: Re-filming: Re-filming to take place in order to make our film the best possible quality and to make sure it appeals to our target audience as much as possible. Week 6: Editing- Edit the second draft together with sound and gather more feedback in order to reassure ourselves that it is the best possible quality it can be and make sure it fits our target audiences expectations. Week 7: Evaluation question- Plan and create evaluation questions 1-3. Edit together/create what is needed in order to make it more appealing and look as creative as possible. Week 8: Evaluation question- Plan and create evaluation questions 4-7. Edit together/create what is needed in order to make it more appealing and look as creative as possible. Week 9: Blog clean up- make blog up to date and appear presentable.

Editing log

Log of when editing took place and whom by-
After re-film:
11/11/16.
Editing by Callum Ison.
Start 19:00
Finish 20:30
What took place?

The clips filmed on this day were added to Wevideo and merged together without sound. The clips were added together to gather a sense of continuity and establish what was happening in the film in a smooth way.
12/11/16
Editing by (main) Callum Ison, (Subs)Joe Deighton, Harriett Folan and Jade Moon
Start 14:25
Finish 15:20
What took place?
We edited the diegetic and non diegetic sound into the film in order the film more scary and also link the film to the horror genre further.
15/11/16

Editing by Group
Start 11:15
Finish 12:10
What took place?
Sound was re-edited in order to make the tension in the film build as the music begins quietly and gradually becomes louder. More news reporter voices added in order to make the action seem more frantic and make the audience begin to panic.

Updated narrative planning

The narrative plan has been updated in order to fit the new film.

Todorov's theory of equilibrium is use in our film as the film begins with a young woman making a cup of tea in the kitchen ready to sit down and watch some T.V. . As the girl is making the tea in the background of the shot you see a mysterious figure appear at the window in the door. As the girl walks to the living room ready to sit down the figure appears again but, the girl does not see him. The girl is sitting with her boyfriend in the living room of the house when a new report about killer clowns appears on the T.V. . They watch for a few seconds before switching the television off and going to bed however, the couple forget to lock the door behind them and the door is slightly open. As the couple walk upstairs the figure at the door and opens it. The figure is revealed to be a clown and the clown walks up the stairs following the couple who had went before him.

Target audience feedback video on 'Smile' rough cut.

In order to adapt our film to make it appear as an opening rather than a trailer, we conducted an interview with out target audience to find out what they like and what they would change. We gathered two 17 year old boys so that the 15-18 age bracket target audience could review the film and help us to adapt. From this video the group decided that we need more build up in our film but, we could still use the same sound as they said that this worked well and reminded them of the very famous horror film 'Psycho'

First draft of ''Smile' re-filmed

Weather of day of refilm

Sunrise: 7:11 AM

Sunset: 4:17 PM
Due to us knowing that on the 10th November 2016 the sun would set a 4:17 PM we decided that the best time to film would be after this as then the lighting would be beginning to get dark, however it wouldn't be too dark and affect the visibility of the characters outside..

Sun and some clouds with a shower in the area. 7°

Precipitation 41%
As we knew that the weathers temperature would not be particularly warm and the precipitation level being quite high we knew that this would be a good day to film due to the cold sense the film would get and the dim lighting due to the clouds would create a more mysterious and spooky undertone to the film.

Rough cut of 'Smile'

Some aspects of the film will need to be changed in order to make the film look more like an opening rather than a trailer. In order to do this we will need to cut down on the amount we reveal in our stories and reveal more about the characters in the film. Also, we need to add more suspense and therefore as a group we have decided to make the clown circle the house and pop up at different windows in order to scare the viewer and leave them apprehensive that the protagonists have not spotted the antagonist.

Audience feedback 2

We will use this audience feedback in order to progress our film to a higher level by taking into account what we have been told. For example the key theme highlighted throughout most of the feedback is about the sound and therefore we will use this to change the sound in our film in order to make it better. As we would like to make our film a level 4 piece we will spend more time researching the sound which we want to use in our film in order to build suspense. This means that we will be looking for a soundtrack that builds slowly and would work well in building up the sound and making it louder as the film progresses.

Plan of re-filming

Once we had decided to re film our media AS coursework we made a list of what would need to be done. We decided that by removing some of the extras we would be able to create more suspense as the audience would be able to build a better relationship with the characters on screen. We also decided that instead of showing the news video on the actual screen we would use a shot of the news report on T.V. in order to make it seem more realistic. We also took inspiration from the film 'Hush' in making the clown stalk the house as when we watched this film we found that the stalking of the house worked and made the audience apprehensive as they wasn't sure when the antagonist would break in. We also took inspiration from the film 'Scream' as the use of popcorn as symbolism for the building tension worked well and therefore we decided to incorporate a whistling kettle in our film to mirror this. Finally, we decided instead of actually killing off the main protagonists we would leave the opening scene on a cliff hanger with the clown walking up the stairs. This was due to us realising by doing this we wouldn't know if the clown was going to kill the protagonists or torture them etc. 

Interview for news reporter role.

We selected candidate one for the role (Joe Deighton)

Props and make up for main brief

Baseball bat

 Baseball bat- The baseball bat will be in the hands of the clown who will use the object to break into the house and also kill the actors in the film at the end of the opening scene. The baseball bat will be an integral piece of iconography ,for the clown, which will be closely associated with the character.







Props list

Jade was assigned the role of making a props and costume list for the day of filming which will be seen on screen. We decided on the use of a black hoodie/tracksuit for the clown in order to make them appear like they are in their youth and also show that the clown is a real person who has a mental problem leading them to think they are a clown. The gloves also belong to the clown as this means that the fingerprints of the clown are not going to be detected and therefore they cannot be caught. The lounge wear belongs to extras who are the dead bodies in order to make it appear that they were just round a friends house for the day.








We decided to use make up in order to make our clown in our film in order to make the film more unique and also show the human side of the character so that we know that the person is just mentally fragile- which will make the film more scary as we can actually see people becoming like this in real life.





Risk assessment sheet

Film logo for opening credits

Many film logos are very simplistic yet bold. For example Jurassic Park has a three tone colour scheme however still works effectively. The red makes the logo stand out whereas the black makes the dinosaur appear as a shadow but, also makes the dinosaur appear more vividly due to the contrast in colour.

Due to this for our film logo we went for a very simplistic design which would work well but look effective. The red of the clown nose makes the logo appear as bold and the film name has been incorporated into the logo design in order to make it look like the teeth of the clown. This logo was created using Adobe Photoshop and the font which was selected for the film title was selected as it has a style which could be associated with Circus' as well as being bold.

Institution logo design

Many of the major film instituion logos use the background of the sky as this can be easily adapted in order to fit different genres of film. For example, in the horror genre the clouds can be darkened so that the logo is given a more eerie tone. Futhermore the font is the boldest aspect of the logo design as this means that they can easily be read when they appear on screen.

For our logo in order to make it fit the horror genre we made the insitutions names drip with blood to link to the iconography of blood and horror films. Also the insitution logo is dark as this means that it is more mysterious due to the colours black and dark blue being associated with mystery and the unknown. This logo was created using Adobe photoshop and the components of the bird and the moon have been added to a background of clouds that have been edited in order to make them appear darker.

Decision on day of filming

Main brief character analysis

Clown- As a group we decided that the use of clowns in our film would be a good link to the context of clown sightings in the news. Our clown would not have any speaking lines and would appear evil, due to the mask they are wearing. This means that the audience are more scared as they can visibly see that the clown is evil rather than just viewing a normal children party clown. The clown would be wearing everyday causal clothing in order to make them seem like they are a normal person who has gone mentally insane. The clothing of the clown would be black so that the clown had connotations of mystery and unkown characteristics due to them not talking.


Extras (dead bodies)- The dead bodies are going to be a group of friends who have gathered at their friends house and are killed by the clown. The dead bodies will be a mixture of males and females in order to use traditional gender stereotypes (especially ones found in horror films)later on in the film.

Feedback video on storyboard and narrative

Storyboard for main brief

Recce for main brief

 Recce- For our main brief we decided to use a house as this connotes safety and closure. However, we can break this traditional stereotype as the clown has been able to get into the house and therefore the audience will panic as they could see this happening to them and realise how easy it is to break into a house. Also the house would be an easy location to adjust lighting and create the best shot. The door way will be used in order to show a long shot of the clown breaking into the house and the narrow path will make the audience feel like there will be no escape for the people in the house. The living room will be used to display the range of dead bodies on the floor ,as well as highlighting the intrusion the clown has had on the live's of the people as they have been able to get into their personal space.

Hush textual analysis

Hush textual analysis-
(18:00-24:06 mins)

Mise en scene:
‘Hush’ uses mise en scene in a creative way as it uses a dark colour scheme in order to connote certain feelings from the director to the audience (the director has coded the film with a certain message which the audience has to deconstruct and realise). In the film ‘Hush’ the use of the door ways which are very dark are a good use as symbolism of suspense and mystery as, the colour black is known for its connotations of mystery and the unknown and also helps to symbolise that it is night time- meeting a common convention for horror films, that they are set in the night. For the audience the dark doorways make the film even more scary as we are unable to see what is inside the room and therefore the antagonist may be lurking in the room waiting for the protagonist, which leaves the audience on edge.

Also, as the house that the film is set in is located in the woods the film immediately becomes even more frightening due to the audience already being able to highlight that the protagonist is far from any sort of civilisation thus meaning that they will not be able to gain help easily. This is shown as the woman’s wifi has been cut off by the antagonist whom knows that by doing this the protagonist is not able to gather help or attention quickly. For an audience this heightens the terror within the film as we are left feeling that the protagonist is becoming even more vulnerable to the action taking place outside. Also where the house is covered with glass windows and doors the film gains another layer for it being scary as the audience know that the antagonist is in control of the situation as they could decide (at any point) when they want to break in by smashing through the glass.

Camerawork and movement:
In the film close up reaction shots are used well in order to build tension and horror as they are used in an effective way which clearly highlights that something major is about to happen and gets the audience anticipating what is going to happen in the film. This is key in ‘Hush’ when the woman reads the texts (which contain pictures of herself inside her home) from an anonymous person. Without the use of the reaction shots we would not be able to gather a sense of emotion from the protagonist as we would not see their reaction properly.

Another camera work technique which is used to good effect is the tracking shot of Maddie- the protagonist- running from door to door in order to lock them so that she is able to feel safe in her own home. The tracking shot allows us to see both the character and her surroundings so we can gather potential weak points in her home which could be breached by the antagonist and keeps us anticipating what will happen next. Also the use of the tracking shot makes the film appear more smooth and fluid and therefore it appears as a much more professional film.

Sound:
One technique which is interestingly used is the use of silence in the film in order to build anticipation. Without the dramatic silence the film would lack character as it would have no suspense and no places to start the soundtrack for a specific reason. The silence which is incorporated in the film makes the narrative more scary due to the audience being left in anticipation of something smashing, breaking etc. Also, sometimes the silence was used effectively as the female protagonist was death and therefore when it cut to shots of the woman or P.O.V. shots the sound would be completely gone as to make us feel like we are in the woman’s shoes.

Furthermore, when sound is used it either quickly goes off or glitches when something important happens in the film. For example, when the protagonist, Maddie, sees the antagonist for the first time the music glitches as this symbolises the importance of this part of the narrative and suggests to the audience that they need to pay attention. Another example from the film is when, the music quickly turns off when the antagonist cuts the wifi of the house off and this is used as, as an audience we come to a realisation that this leaves the woman with no hope of gaining help as she is already in the middle of the forest, where civilisation is out of sight ; now she is unable to call anybody for help either. Without these subtle hints the film would be very flat and would lack any hints from the director at what parts were important and which parts were not.

Editing:
The editing in Hush builds tension and panic throughout as it is very fast paced and frantic which establishes a clear sense of panic as it is a film which is from the viewpoint of the protagonist who is unaware of what is actually going to happen. If the film was from the antagonist’s perspective then the editing would be a lot slower as they know that they are in control of the situation and are less stressed than the protagonist. The editing becomes more frantic when the woman is running around home in order to lock all of the doors (a typical situation in horror films as it makes the character feel more safe in their own home) which shows the viewer that the protagonist is panicking and making simple decisions which they think will help to save them.

Finally, the film uses constant cuts back and forth between the antagonist and protagonist means that the audience is always drawn to the fact the two characters are now increasingly involved in each other's life. The cuts between one another, highlight that the characters are in a constant battle between one another as they show that they are in close proximity and that one of them will end up getting what they are wishing for. This means that the audience is left feeling like they need to take a side of a character and then build a relationship with them- which predominantly leads to them feeling the same way that the character on screen does.