Villain's Speech

We want our main character (villain) to be saying/mumbling something when he is dragging her away and/or when he crosses out/puts up the new photos. Possible ideas:

• "I knew you'd/ she'd look good in the dress"

Alix

• "She was pretty" - as he crosses her out
• When he puts up the new/main girl i think he should say something relevant to the film title - like 'i just can't resist one more"???, then the title is 'irresistable (rough example)
• He could sigh loudly and say 'she should've listened'

Liam

Dragging

• "I'll need to up the dosage next time
• SHe should've listened....
• How dare she
• tsk, tsk, tsk"

New Photo

• sniffs
• stroke it
• "I'll take care of you"
• "There There..."

Matt

• there could be a voiceover throughout the whole chase, of the victim and villain's conversation before she escaped. e.g. Villain: "do you know who i am?" "do you understand?" "i am much more than a human" Victim: "please don't hurt me" "you won't get away with this" "[Scream]"
• he could possibly say something which mimics the victim's speech prior to her escape [in the same high pitched voice]. e.g "please don't hurt me" This would show his state of mental illness and isolation from the normal society. Also this would reflect his dominance.

Ending

Over the past couple of days, we've had lots of discussions about how to create the end part of our opening sequence. The basic idea was the same throughout (a pan across lots of polaroids of tied-up girls in the white dress, with the faces crossed out in all of them) but we had a few different ideas of how to actually set up the photos on the wall.

Originally, the idea was to just have the polaroids of the girls in the dress, in a line on a wall. Then after the camera has panned across all of them, the audience would see the killer put up a picture of the new (main) girl in the film. We realised that this wouldn’t work (as explained in the Tuesday 4th December blog), so decided to think of something slightly different.

One idea, was for the killer to have a collage of pictures of all his victims doing normal things. The camera would do pan across the collage a few times (getting lower down on the collage each time). On the wall there would also be a row of the polaroids of the gagged girls, and the camera would pan across those too. We felt like this might not look right, so we came up with some other ideas.

Another idea we had, was to have lots of pictures of different girls (i.e. a few pictures of each of them) in a line across the wall. So for example, there would be three normal sized pictures of a girl doing normal things (e.g. walking down a road, posting a letter etc) and then one polaroid of the girl in the white dress. This pattern of photos would be repeated for about 3 or 4 girls. The audience would then see him put up a picture of the new girl on the wall next to the photograph of his last victim (Lara).

The most recent idea is the one that we’re actually going to use in our opening sequence. There would be a small pile of normal photos (maybe 4 or 5 average sized photos) with a Polaroid pinned to the top. There may also be a number written at the bottom of each Polaroid, to show that this is how the killer keeps track of his victims, and also to let the audience know how many people he’s already killed. After the camera pans across these pictures, the audience would see the killer put up a picture of the new girl on the wall. This would probably be the first picture of this particular girl, to show the audience that the killer has only just started to stalk her and this would also show that the rest of the film will be about her.

Angelie

Tuesday 27th November

We watched our footage from our test shoot today, after doing a quick test edit we were quite happy with the results but have still decided on a lot of changes:

• Lara needs to look completely hysterical because during our test shoot it wasn't believable that she had been/is about to be raped, so we decided to make sure that; she runs faster, is a lot more clumsy and stumbley (making it obvious she has been drugged), she has to look a lot more scared, and we are also going to mess up her hair, smudge her nmake-up, and put mud on her legs/arms and dress.
• Nick also needs to be further away from her otherwise it is so unbelievable that he hasn't caught her already, and he also needs to take bigger more confident strides.
• Our framing also needs to be tighter in order to really focus the audience's attention on Lara's emotion.
• We also need to start recording before we say action, and leave it runnign for a little afterwards and have our actors run in and out of the frame to give ourselves more choice when editing
• During the shoot we didn't concentrate on shot logging and using the whiteboard, so this weekend when shooting one person will do the whiteboard, one will shot log, one will film, and the other will direct the actors. And obviously we will switch roles all the time to give everyone a fair chance.
• Our POVs also need more variance - e.g. looking up and down, and we are also not going to unfocus the camera on shoot but afterwards when editing so that we can fully control it.
• We also realised that we don't have enough shots, so we are going to take a lot more of her just running and stumbling to give ourselves more choice in the edit room - almost like filler shots, we also want more shots of her falling over.
• We realise a big problem of ours is continuity - i.e. the background matching up, so next time we are going to carefully choose a path through the forest. Then we will do POV shots all the way along the path, to again give us more choice when editing.
• Lara also got increidbly cold and unconfrotable - particularly between shots when she couldn't put her shoes back on, so this weekend we are going to bring an old towel (or some form of material) for her to stand on, and change on, and sit down if she wishes.
• Our main problem was our initial shotlist was also not very helpful so our main priority before this weekend is to create a perfect one which we can just follow and therefore avoid time wasting. We are going to talk through every single shot and therefore get any disagreements out of the way before hand.

Alix

Chase Sequences

Our target from the last meeting was to find and analyse a chase sequence from a film for inspiration.

Alix - The Shining
The best chase scene in the shining is right at the end through the hotel's eerie maze, and it is the father (Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance) chasing his son on a murderous rampage.

Camerawork
The camera spends nearly the whole time tracking, either reverse or forward as the 2 characters run through the maze, and it does it so smoothly it seems almost graceful and elegant and it seems to slow the time down and dramatize it further. The smooth movements also make it seems very disorientating as the large snowy bushes just become a blur. The camera spends most of it's time on a low level but not on a low angle which makes the maze walls seem even bigger and more menacing.

Mise-en-Scene
The Mise-en-Scene in this is brilliant, as it's very early morning around 3/4am it is very dark and there is an eerie mist hovering quite high above the ground 1 or 2 feet, which creates a very creepy atmosphere. The high maze walls also make it seem very sinister and isolated, there is also snow on the ground which is very white and i think it symbolises the little boy's innocence, it also increases suspense as the audience worries that the father is just following the boy's foot prints - so he won't be able to hide.

Editing
It is not quite cross-cutting as they aren't in 2 different spaces but the father and son are never in the same shot. I think this heightens to suspense as you don't really know how far apart they are. I think the sequence may have also been slowed down a little as all the movements seem very graceful and dramatic (and generally just slower) - although this is mainly due to the camera work. They are all straight cuts, and mainly long takes - i.e. they show the father for a while and then the little boy for a while which increases suspense again by the mystery of how far apart they really are.

Sound
There is a lot of diegetic sound mainly panting and footsteps which increase suspense, at the end as well, over the top of a show of Jack Nicholson falling over from blood loss you can here the engine starting of the truck in which his son and wife escape in - so it is incredibly important as it sets the viewers midn to rest.
The non-diegtic changes with the movement of the characters, when they are still (with the camera) the music is mainly horns and trumpets - possibly to symbolises tiredness from their running. When they are running though suspense is further heightened by scratchy/shreiky strings - this is also the films motif and is used through and also quite famous.

Matt - Halloween (2007 film)

Plot summary:

The Devil's Rejects director Rob Zombie resurrects one of the most notorious slashers in screen history with this re-imagining of the 1978 John Carpenter classic that spawned numerous sequels and countless imitators. As a child, young Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) committed one of the most unspeakable crimes imaginable. Subsequently locked in an asylum and placed under the care of Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), the hollow-eyed boy grew into an emotionless man determined to escape back to his hometown of Haddonfield and complete the murderous mission that he began so many years back. These days, the long-abandoned Myers house sits decrepit and overgrown on a peaceful suburban street, its boarded windows and rotting wood a silent testament to the slaughter that has haunted Haddonfield for decades. Now Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) is back, and as the children of this typical Midwestern town fill the sidewalks for a fun-filled night of tricks and treats, Haddonfield is about to find out that there is no escape from pure evil.

http://www.starpulse.com/

Camera work:

• Use of tilted angles to show disorientation
• Whip pans to show immediacy
• Shaky movement when more involved as if audience is experiencing the event.
• Steady camera work when onlooker so we can take the action codes in
• A big range from big close ups to very long shots, showing close emotions to the surrounding environment
• Victims eye level to show enormity of villain
• Some shots use a stationary camera to restrict the audiences flow in their involvement, making it more enigmatic as they want to be there to help the victim escape.
  

Mise-en-scene:

• Mask hides the identity of the villain and makes him seem supernatural and excluded from society
• Villain wears dark clothes to hide identity and is a signifier of evil
• Rural street implies a greater sense of isolation, i.e. victim is more on her own and implies this is out of the ordinary rural life
• Domestic setting involves the audience when expressing fears on society so is more suspenseful and plausible
• Night time and low level lighting gives a sense of creepiness, and is typical of thriller chases
• The struggle through doors and windows shows entrapment and heightens suspense. Is she going to get inside in time?
  

Editing:

• Fast pace editing and fast shots are used in places to show that this is actually a chase- it maintains realism and audience’s pace
• Slow paced editing and longer shots are purposefully used to hold the audience in suspense and this lingering puts the audience on the edge of their seats- e.g. ‘quickly, get in the house!!’
• Slight blue colouring connotes a theme of isolation
• Straight cuts maintain pace of the chase
  

Sound:

• Use of diegetic sound such as screaming, crying, grabbing, smashing of objects, smashing glass, banging on the door, locking the door, smashing the door down. Brings chase to life.
• Non-diegetic sounds such as ...a piano drone, heightens suspense and enigma.

Angelie - I Know What You Did Last Summer
This chase sequence is the chase leading up to Helen (played by Sarah Michelle Geller)'s death. It starts with Helen in the police car with the policeman who is meant to be protecting her. He then goes to try and see why there is a car parked in the middle of the road. The policeman is then murdered by the villain in all black who uses a hook as his/her weapon, while Helen is locked in the car.

Camera work
The chase sequence starts with her kicking the window and smashing it. There is then a floor level shot of her climbing out of the window. Then there's a long shot of her climbing out of the window, giving the audience an overview of what's happening around her. then it goes back to the floor level shot, she gets up from the ground and starts to run away. The audience can only see her feet, then her feet run out of frame and the audience can see the killer's feet walking behind her. Then there's an very/extreme long shot with silhouettes of trees acting as frames within a frame, then Helen's silhouette runs from behind one of the trees and runs towards the camera. Then she runs out of frame and the killer's silhouette walks into frame, following the same path that Helen took. Then comes a medium shot of Helen running and as she passes the camera, the camera pans to follow her. Then there's a long shot which then goes to medium close up of a shop that Helen appears to be running towards. We see Helen run past the camera again and the camera pans as she runs past. Then there's a shot from inside the shop, of a woman putting some sort of plastic sheeting over a mannequin. Then there's a tracking shot of the villain, which is a close up low level shot of the killer holding a hook. Then there's a reverse track close up of Helen as she runs. Then there's a shaky (probably handheld), point of view shot of the shop she's running towards. Then it goes back to tracking the killer, but this time with a medium long shot. Then back to the reverse track close up of Helen running. Then there is a long shot of the shop, and Helen runs into frame and towards the shop. Then there's a shot from inside the shop (through the window in the shop door) which zooms in as Helen gets closer and closer to the door. Helen bangs on the window to get the character in the shop's attention.
[That's basically the end of the actual chase sequence and afterwards Helen gets into the shop]

Editing
The takes of Helen are generally quite short, to convey her panic. The takes of the killer are usually longer, to show how slowly he's coming after her, but this also shows that he's really in control of the situation. Some cross-cutting takes place between Helen and the killer, and the female character in the shop. There also appears to be some parallel editing, since there are some shots of a girl, researching a murder, on the computer. But, this may instead be cross cutting because their paths may cross later on, but at the moment we can't really tell whether or not that will happen. Straight cuts are used throughout to creat a sense of urgency.

Mise-en-scene
The chase takes place at night, which is typical of a thriller film. The area of the chase also seems to be quite deserted, which is also typical of a thriller film. Helen is wearing a dress and high heels, which make her more vulnerable since neither item of clothing is particularly practical when trying to escape from a murderer. The villain is wearing all black which is a signifier of evil/evil characters. The audience can't tell who the villain is, since his/her face is covered. This creates enigma. The villain is using a hook as his/her weapon, which is perhaps an indication of who the killer really is.

Sound
Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound are used in the chase sequence. The music used adds to the tension of the scene. Some of the diegetic sound (for example, footsteps) is used for realism. Other diegetic sound (e.g. panting, gasping, a bit of dialogue at the end when Helen is shouting Elsa's name) is used to make the scene more tense and scary.

Liam -

Different Endings

Some different endings to the scene that we discussed in our previous meeting:

• Fade to title of film, then fade up to long shot of white dress floating down river - connotes killer has raped and murdered victim
• Fade to black, hear victim scream or killer laugh, with title of film
• After he reappears it fades to black and then it fades up to him in his shed (links both our ideas together), and it pans across poloroids of girls which have been crossed out with red marker, and then he crosses off the photo with our main actress in.
• Have the sequence already shown in reverse, only showing specific shots (e.g. stumbles over to reveal killer), then cut to victim in shed tied to chair - shows where the victim has come from, and connotes she has escaped from this place
• Shot of couple walking dfog in forest - stumbling across dress or body (difficult due to the fact it involves other characters)

Liam

Problems

At our meeting today we came across a few problems with our idea.

• The female actress wouldn't be hard to find as it can easily be someone who looks/is young, so therefore someone in our year, the main problem is the male. We want him to be tall, quite hench and generally look older (bit of stubble etc), and this inevitably causes problems as we don't know many men in late 20s early 30s
  
  
• We really liked the idea of shooting early morning (6am-ish) because it strays from the conventions of night time and we could get really good effects with breath and mist, but this would mean we'd have only approximately 30-45 minutes in which to shoot. For this problem we do have a solution though: we would need to have everything perfectly storyboarded and organised so that we could shoot efficiently.
  
  
• Different weather conditions could also cause problems, not only just rain but for example sunshine and then not (coming through the trees). Although this is a problem everyone doing this project (and anyone ever shooting) faces.
  
  
• The costume for the female is hopefully going to be a white floaty dress - to connote innocence/purity and to make her stand out, and probably bare feet, but as we are shooting in December and early morning our actress would get very very cold. Although this could be minimised if we shot very efficiently (as said above) and if we brought like a big warm dressing gown for her to put on between shots.
  
  
• Our final problem is slightly smaller but we quite like 'Post Blue' by Placebo for our back ground song, except that this was used last year and we didn't realise.

Alix

Rough Final Idea

These are all the definite factors which we want our opening sequence to contain:

• Grovelands woods


• Early morning


• Innocent young(ish) girl


• Drugged up - blurry POV shots


• Stumbling, falling


• Chased by hench, tall, all in black older guy


• White, floaty dress - torn and muddy


• Final shot: title of the film flashes up, then fades to her dress left on the floor (poss half in the stream)

Our main starting point is our fantastic location as the Mise-en-Scene of grovelands (and attached idea) is brilliant.

Here is a rough first storyboard

It's quite bad quality because the pencil is drawn lightly

Alix