Actress ideas

Yesterday, I had an idea about using a beach as part of one of our major scenes. We spoke about how we could use Clacton Beach as part of our filming, therefore leading into maybe shots of and on the pier, giving us a wider range of shots and scenes to make our film more believable. We discussed the idea of somehow incorperating the water and the emptiness of the beach into the scene to show quite plainly her unstable mental state.

Remake of 'The Shining'

We were asked to create our own version of either; The Shining, Saw or Scream. Our group decided to do The Shining. As we are a group of three, we would all be able to have an input in the acting and filming. By doing the remake it gave us a greater insight into the horror genre and how we could go about filming and finding the right actors when it came down to our final piece later on. By doing the remake, we had to create a shot list of our film which would be beneficial for when we have to do it for real later.
We learnt vital information and insight into how we should make a horror film and how to create one to the best of our ability and make it interesting and fun to watch, and also for us to do.
Our video is on our group blog.

'Did You Bring It?' Preliminary Task & Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation

I believe that the film we made doesn't demonstrate continuity very well. Several parts of our film show that we didn't really think about it too closely. Some examples of this is that after our establishing shot, which includes Jo Roberts, Lucy Clark, Abi Crafter and myself sitting round a table with Laura in the background, waiting. The next shot is of Jeni coming through the door, and us sitting round the table isn't there anymore and also Laura is standing in the doorway at the side.

Throughout the film, we generally make use of match on action. But we made sure we used the 180-degree rule as to not confuse our audience. Also, shot reverse shot to show who was talking at that moment in time.

I feel our group worked well together. We co-operated with each other and asked opinions. I would've liked the use of the programme to be used by each of in turn, instead of one person having main control of what was being done and added.

If we were to do this filming again, I would improve on the continuity of it. There were several times, of which I've mentioned above, where it was shown to be poor. I would also make the set more believable and good to look at. For parts of our filming also, we needed to have the cameras at the different heights and angles for it to look effective.

I don't think we planned out video very well, and I think we could definately improve if we had to do it again. I would do a test run first and make sure the actors knew their places and lines and put the right effectiveness to what they were saying to make it believable to the audience.

We added music to our piece and also added a title page. We used transitions to fade out and in between scenes to smooth the running from scene to scene instead of it just being changed.

The editing software was very complicated to use and it took us a while to get used to the different style of programme. We've learnt the basics of the programme, such as how to use transitions and cut scenes where we want them. We came across a problem where Laura was standing in the corner of a scene which she wasn't meant to be in, so we had to crop the shot so she wasn't in it anymore. But we found that we were unable to do this, so it made it difficult for us and it added to the poor continuity of our piece.

Mise-En-Scene of The Shining

The Shining was filmed in 1980 and was directed by Stanley Kubrick. The parts of Mis-En-Scene I’ll be analysing will be the; sound, costume, lighting and camera angles.
At the opening of this scene you immediately get a mid-shot of Jack by the bathroom door. He is wearing a red jacket and cheque shirt. The colour red connotes danger and death, red symbolising blood. He is singing the dialogue of the wolf when he is attacking the pig’s houses in turn. The story of this is associated with children’s stories so to contrast the innocence of children and the stories told to them against the horror of Jack about to cut the door down to kill his wife who is inside the door. There is also extra diegetic sound over the shot; it is of a high pitched sound but is coming in slowly so the audience doesn’t notice it until it gets louder over Jack. The use of this sound builds tension within the audience and hints that something bad is going to happen as the tempo of the music is slowly building up, like the mental illness of Jack. The lighting around Jack is coming from a single lamp to the left of him. The lamp is on the bedside table shining up into his face connoting danger.
On the other side of the door, is Jack’s wife in the film. She is wearing a dressing down, showing she has obviously just got out of bed. By her wearing a dressing gown, the audience can immediately tell that is night time and she has clearly got out of bed in a rush. The use of a dressing gown connotes the vulnerability of her, as we associate night time with eeriness, danger and it is when we feel most vulnerable. The camera tracks her to the sink, where she has placed a kitchen knife in the sink beforehand. Throughout this time the tempo of the music has started to get quicker and the pitch of the music is getting higher. The lighting in the bathroom is clinical, white and sharp. It illuminates her facial expression evidently, the main light is coming from above her from a ceiling light so therefore is not natural light.
When the shot goes back to Jack, the camera then is behind him as he raises the axe to crash into the door. You can see the mess the bed has been left in which signifies to the audience there has been a rush. The pitch of the music then gets higher still until Jack plunges the axe into the door, where it pauses and we hear the thud of the axe against the door and then the scream of Wendy. The scream denotes that Wendy is terrified and we don’t even need to see her face to understand that. A scream is associated with fear so it adds again to the heightening fear of Jack. The camera tracks the axe as it goes backwards and forwards into the door. This happens twice and on the third, the camera angle shifts to show the axe coming in the through the door. This makes the audience feel like they’re involved in the scene and are actually a part of the moving axe. The sound of the axe coming in through the door is diegetic but there is still the extra diegetic sound over the top. This has now suddenly turned to a high pitched, fast tempo sound to a low thrumming sound. We carry on watching the axe hack through the door sideways. The camera now progresses around so the audience are watching the axe come through the door face on and can see the hole that has ready been made. We can also see Jack’s facial expression, this adds to the dread we as an audience feel for Wendy as the look on his face is sheer malice. The music then goes back to its high pitch again from the beginning of the clip, it indicates that something bad is going to happen again as when the music was last used Jack started hacking the door.
The camera then moves back to the other side of the door again where there is a wide shot of Jack and the bedroom. Again, we see the bed and the bedside light that is just casting a light up the wall causing the rest of the room to look dim. We then watch him successfully cut the door and walk over to the hole created. The music then gets considerably noticeable and high pitched as the camera angle does a close up of Jack’s face looking into the door. The expression on his face is chilling and is even more manifest as he put his face into the directly bright light of the bathroom. We then close up on Jack reaching in to turn the key in the lock. Then we see Wendy cut Jacks hand in a close-up shot and then again on Jack’s face as he shouts in horror because of his hand. It leaves us wanting to know if Jack successfully got through the door or not, and if Wendy will escape and survive.

Analysis of the first 3 minutes of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EqVQBlSntw

The Exorcism of Emily Rose was filmed in 2005 and was directed by Scott Derickson. I will be analysing all aspects of Mise-En-Scene; sound, costume, lighting, camera angles and performances.

The opening of the scene is just black, which immediately makes you wonder why there is nothing to visually look at, playing on the audience’s fear emotion. The extra diegetic music is a low and continuous hum which is normally associated with horror when something is about to happen as it is it building up tension. Then a higher pitched noise starts in conjunction with the sound of someone almost shouting. Then the first piece of text you can see is when it informs you that it is based on a true story. This stays with the audience who make links to this all the way through the film. We then hear the sound of someone running and more shouting, including “Emily!” of which we know whom the film is about. As the audience can only rely on the sense of sound, it makes it all the more terrifying to hear what is going on as we can’t see it for ourselves. The screaming then fades into a middle pitched shrill which at the same time the screen fades to white. The first thing we can see on the screen is barbed wire, connoting entrapment, danger and the inability to escape. The title of the film fades into this shot slowly and in a gothic red text with the colour red connoting blood, death and even The Devil which is prominent in the film.

The music is still continuous throughout this and then when the screen goes black yet again, playing on the audiences fear. We then get a shot of weeds or long grass being swayed in the wind. Weeds denotes ill growth and shows that the area this is in has not been kept well showing that maybe something else has taken over the time, the way weeds are able to manipulate space. The sky is naturally dark and dim, so this plays on the pathetic fallacy of this is that something bad is going on or will be going to happen. There are no bright lights being shone anywhere. The music then adds high pitched piano keys to add more tension. We then see a wide shot of a field of pumpkins, which are associated with Halloween which is all about Witches and Devils and evil, yet again hinting as what is yet to come in the remainder of the film. The shot is then a high wide angle of a house. It is a high angle so you can see straight away in the middle of nowhere and there is nothing else around then, making you think the house will be deserted and also to make the house look small against the wide space. It is still also dark and dim naturally, again reflecting on the building mood of fear being created.

We then watch a figure walk into the shot, this immediately makes you wonder why there is someone walking slowly to a deserted house, a common factor of horror films. We then get a close up of the character walking through the snow. All the while the credit are still rolling up through each shot, but red is still remaining the only colour mainly so far. The red is making a clear contrast against the white, showing how the Devil has taken over something pure. The camera tracks the person’s footfalls which makes the audience feel part of the scene, like we are following the person into this house. Also as they are unexpected is makes the audience jump as it is a sudden noise after the continuous low one we have been hearing. As we see them walk up to the house, we see more of the design and state the house is in, it looks old and greying so hints to the audience yet again there is nothing been done around the outside of the house, showing the activity is either inside or non-existent.

For the first time since they came into the shot, we get a look at the actor. He is wearing all black so illustrating he is important as it is denoted all important people wear black. His facial expression is confused as he looks about himself, as it appears he is alone. He also indicates he is cold by bringing his hand to his mouth. The scene carries on as he comes away from the house to look around. The extra diegetic music is still going on but it just a plain low drumming sound, but even though the music is still going on, it feels silent. We then get a mid-shot or the man and his facial expression is still quite confused as the camera shows him looking at the barn, to a wide shot of the barn itself, back to the actor again. It gives the impression he looked, and then looked again, like he was taken aback by it. The shot then goes wide again as we watch him turn, with the same expression still. It is still dark and the music is still playing as before. The man then walks towards the low angled camera to show him looking up, of which we see someone looking out of the window down at him. The shot is then an over-the-should looking up towards to window. You can’t see the face of the person looking out and the man’s expression turns to quizzical.

As the woman comes out of the door, it is the first voice we have actually heard being spoken. The entire two and a half minutes is setting the scene and preparing you for what is to be revealed, it is a shock to hear a voice. She is wearing a worn out cardigan and her hair is pulled back off her face scruffily. The lighting is still dim so we can’t see her facial expression but by the tone of her voice we can tell she is nervous and panicked. She wraps her arms around her indicating she is cold but also maybe a little nervous and is trying to protect herself. The light is still dark and natural and the extra diegetic music is back to the high piano keys for a short time.

As we go into the house, the camera is on a close up of someone with their hands around a mug. The mug is green, which is a plain colour so again there is no real and significant colour so far apart from the red we have seen throughout.
The camera then pans up from a low angle to reveal a sullen looking man looking into his cup with his hands grasped round it, he looks tired and totally lost in thought and doesn’t even look up when the man walks in through the door. The camera then shows us a wide shot of a family sitting in a small worn down room around a table. The lighting in the scene looks to be all natural, as there are no bright lights whatsoever, making it dark and dim reflecting the obvious mood of sadness. There are still no obvious colours, and all the women are dressed in cream, connoting innocence.
The girl in the middle is crying and the others are attempting to comfort her by stroking her hair and putting their arms around her, making the audience wonder why she is crying. The extra diegetic sound has softened considerably but it is still noticeable, but the silence between the people is more obvious to the audience. The shot we then see is just off the main lady and man walking into what appears to be a hallway near the stairs, we watch the close up of him as he turns around to glance back at the family we have just seen and the look on his face is of worry. It then pans out to show us another man. We see a wide shot of this man who again is wearing just a plain checked shirt with no outstanding colours. He is holding a doll in his hand and appears to be lost in his own thoughts and he has a look of extreme sadness and we again wonder what has happened to this family to make them behave like this. Behind him we can see a cross on the wall, this is showing the audience that religion plays a big part in the family, so therefore in a common theme in this film.

Initial Ideas - from beginning of project.

For our initial ideas, we all sat down as a group and discussed what we could do. I made a reference to Ian McEwan's 'Enduring Love' and the stalking theme the novel is based around. We together developed our ideas and then as a group put together the spider diagram that includes our other ideas for our film.
Click here to see the spider diagram.