Why we chose Universal Pictures

During our research for choosing what studio to use for the opening of our film we looked at other film openings and we found that there were so many different movie production companies but we found that  Universal Pictures or 20th Century Fox were the most popular for thriller/crime films. So, we randomly chose between the two and eventually chose Universal Pictures. 

Final Missing Persons Poster

This is the final copy of the missing person's poster created. We used it in a scene where it is taped to a lamp post.
We used red font for the 'missing' as it is such a bright colour that it automatically would draw someone's attention if they were passing by the poster.
 We had to use a picture of the actress that clearly showed her eyes because we knew that we was going to zoom into the eyes of the poster which would then have the actual footage of her eyes come through the image.

Missing Person Poster

For part of our film we have a scene including a missing person's poster. We each designed our own one of how we thought it should be presented, these were the three options and we used aspects of each one to develop the one we would use.

Changes in Monologue

After members of our group watched The Wolfman in their spare time, they were inspired and proposed an idea. In the opening of The Wolfman a woman is speaking, explaining things. This is where they got the idea for the main girl in our film to be speaking. We compared this with the news report idea and we decided that as it is actually the victim narrating it, it gives it a more chilling effect and would entice the audience more as it is more personal.

Also, we thought that we could create a missing persons poster and stick it on a lampost, and then track down the lampost and then zoom into Grace's eyes (Grace is our actress) and then it would fade into a black screen and fade out of a black screen into the filming of Grace in the cellar starting with footage of her eyes. Instead of filming more footage for this, we used footage that we already have. However, it was zooming into her eyes. So we found a way of reversing the clip so it zooms out of the eyes. 

Script for the voice over: "My Grandparents always used to say, 'the older you get, the faster time passes' It certainly feels that way, it feels like a lifetime since I have seen my family. I have so much yet to experience, my first kiss, marriage, a job. The memories of my family are still so strong, however, I do not know if they will stay like that. One thing I do know is, I will get out."

Deciding on The Film Title

When deciding on the title for our film opening we thought about the contents of our opening. We came up with a whole page of possible names but the main ones were as followed; Daze, Daisy, Dais, Unknown, The Lost Abduction. Daze, Daisy and Dais were all really a play on words, we knew we would be calling the main character Daisy and we knew that she'd be in a dazed state in the cellar so we played around with the words. However, we realised that that someone is either 'in a daze' or 'dazed' so we would have to call is 'Dazed' to ensure the context was correct. I really liked the idea of calling it 'Dais' because it gives the film a more personal touch because it would've been the nickname of the girl, however, we realised that using a word that is not grammatically correct could be an issue so because on the uncertainty we ruled that idea out. We found out that Unknown was already a title to a film that was released recently so we did not want to use that incase audiences drew similarities between the two. So we were down to Daisy and The Lost Abduction and all of the group agreed that we preferred the name Daisy. We also asked other members of our class which seemed more appealing and the generalised comment we received was that 'The Lost Abduction' sounds like the film would just be an ordinary crime/thriller film so it wouldn't appeal to them whereas Daisy is quite an unusual title. Using the victims name, which is quite an innocent name, intrigued them. After considering all factors the group decided to name the film Daisy.

Production Company Logo

These were four production logo's designed by members of our group. Three were fairly similar with the same name "Cameo Productions" and the other with "Ask G". Both were extremely different because Cameo was clean and straight to the point whereas Ask G was eye catching but yet somehow distracting. We had a discussion about which we preferred, asked people in our class and we also researched into how other production companies had designed theirs. We found that major companies kept it clean and simple. For example, Pixar Pictures is black text on a white background. All of the group decided that less was more, therefore we decided to go with the last image as it stands out because of the contrast in colours and goes with the clean and simple convention. Choosing the font for the logo was difficult as there was so many to choose from but after thinking about how the conventional production companies designed their we decided to go with one that if bold yet simple so that the audience is not distracted by creative font. 

We asked members of our class to comment on which one they preferred and why. Some said they preferred the Ask G image because the colours and design is eye catching but some said that they preferred the Cameo Production logo's because they are simple and look more professional. 

When it came to deciding which to use we thought about how it would look with the rest of our credits and the appropriateness and effectiveness of each in relevance of our film. We all decided that the white text on black background for Cameo productions was the most fitting with the genre and the other credits. 

Adjusting To The New Equipment and Software

We were introduced to Mac computers, Final Cut Express and the video camera's at the beginning of the school year. We didn't have long to really figure out how to use everything so we had to learn as we went. I didn't have any trouble with using the Mac computers as I have one at home so I am already adjusted from PC to Mac, however, I think the main struggle for most people was coming to grips with using Final Cut Express as it was completely new to everyone, so learning how to use everything and find everything was a real struggle. This was gradually solved as we all became more familiar with the software. Another issue which we had was uploading the video footage from the tapes to the computer. However this was easily solved as the IT technicians gave us a step by step guide on how to do so.
So overall, the problems that faced us we overcame them by the time we began editing.

The Monologue

Our initial plan was to not have any dialogue in our film, we thought it would not be necessary and may distract the audience from the chilling scenes. However, we didn't consider that the audience may be confused as to what had happened because we knew exactly was happening but then we thought about how it would look from the audience's point of view. This is when we realised we needed a narrator of some sort to set the story straight. During conversation about how we could do this, we had a light bulb moment and suggested using the sound of a news report as a voice over during the opening credits. So we chose a member of the group to have their voice recorded. However, as we're all teenage girls, our voice's aren't really what you'd expect to hear on a news report so we edited the clip using Garage Band. The dialogue with the opening music chosen still in the background together creates an eerie, sad tone for the beginning of the film, this is so that when the scene's of the young girl begin, they feel sympathetic to her, and want to help her, intriguing them into the film.

The monologue script: 

"Breaking News - Yet again another teenage disappearance has been reported. As of yesterday this has been the 19th abduction within the past six weeks. The victim is 17 years old and is currently studying for her A-Levels. Her parents, Deborah and Martin Robinson are holding out in the hope that Daisy will once again be reunited with them so that they can live a normal life."

Target Audience

When deciding on our target audience we listed some of the things our film would contain; strong language, violence, possible sex implications. We then researched into what the actual classifications were for each rating. We were expecting it to be either a 15 or 18. We were correct. The classification for a a film to be certificated as a 15 are as follows;

Only those over 15 years are admitted. Nobody younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong language and one use of very strong language, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and undetailed sex activity.

And after comparison with the classification for an 18 certificate; 

Only adults are admitted. Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/sex references along with strong sexual activity is also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context.

We compared both and thought about how our opening would set up the film. After considering the content of our opening we thought that we would rate it as a 15. This is because the content would not be as extreme enough to classify it as an 18. 

Changes to Costumes

Due to the changes in the film idea's we only need one costume now, that is the costume for Grace to wear in the cellar. We chose to keep the same idea of just a black vest and black trousers so that we keep the idea of her being stripped of all possessions.

Evaluation Of The Animatic Storyboard

How useful was it to the group?

I do not think it was significantly useful to us as we had already spoke in depth about how we was going to film this but I understand how it would it be helpful as it shows exactly what will happen and an idea of how it will look together and what angles we would need for our shots. If we were to do a similar project to this I think a more in depth storyboard may be useful to us.

I think the process of editing the clips together helped us most as it gave us an idea of how many different transitions there were available to use for our opening. It counted as more preparation for our real opening so that when it comes to editing that we will not be wondering what to do and how we do it like we was at first. 

December Filming Dates

This is an image of the dates where we have planned to film and edit in December. We had some difficulty arranging everyones availability as each of us have a job so we do not know our forthcoming work commitments, however this is a rough idea of when we are all available.

Change in Idea

Change in Ideas

In our old idea we chose to have a child in the park, however, we have struggled to find a young child that would be able to act in our film. So, we have decided that instead of using a child as the person being kidnapped, we will use a teenage girl whom is walking through a park on her own.

Costume Ideas

  Costumes:

• ·     For the young girl, she will need to wear any casual clothes that a young child of that age would wear so for the child we use, she can just turn up in her own clothes. We’ll need to get a pink butterfly clip to put in her hair, which the parents will find when she has gone missing.
• ·     For the parents they will just need to wear casual wintery clothes.
• ·     The young girl 10 years later will be wearing tatty dirty clothes which we can get and just make them look scruffy.
• ·     The kidnapper will just be wearing all black, possible use of a balaclava.

            Settings:

• ·     A park, we will be using our local park.
• ·     For the scene 10 years later we’ll be using my cellar.

     Props:

• ·     Wooden chair for the girl in the cellar
• ·     Rope to tie her up
• ·     Hand held camera for the father in the park

Storyboard

Research into Abductions

We thought that we should research into previous abductions so that we know exactly how to portray everything. After reading things that the victims had wrote and interviews with them we understood more about how it worked. We looked at the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard. In an interview she mentions that when she was first taken to the sound proof shed, she was drifting in and out of sleep, this is where we got the idea for our actress to be drifting in and out of consciousness having flashbacks of what had happened. We learnt that he kept telling her that she was there to protect other people, she knew what he was capable and would not wish it on anyone else. He also kept a book full of cut out pictures of little girls. 

This research helped us understand the emotional state that our actress would need to portray and how she would react to the entrance of the person holding her captive. 

 This is a link to the interview we watched: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci_22Oqhwtc

Music For Film Opening

It was quite a struggle to find copyright free music websites that had the right type of music to fit our genre. However, after looking for a while we found a site that had the perfect music and it was copyright free.
This is the link to the page where it says that we can use his music for free in our project: http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/faq.html

Below is a print screen of the permission to use his music in our coursework.

Film Opening Ideas

Film Opening Ideas

Idea 1

Genre: Thriller/Crime

Content: Begins with a police briefing of a missing girls case. As it develops it flashbacks to the night that the girl goes missing through a CCTV camera, her standing on a busy road, all dolled up, looking for business. She is a prostitute. Also a close up on all the police officers faces and then stop on one looking oddly suspicious.

Idea 2

Genre: Thriller

Content: A family in a park with the dad filming his young daughter or son running around, it will zoom into a birthmark or something that would identify them forever. Then it would switch to a different view of the child, maybe from behind a tree or something not visible to make it suspicious and then switches to filming his wife smiling and laughing, switches back to their child, which is no longer there.  They begin running, shouting, with the camera still on even though they’re unaware. The panic fades to the background and then a new scene with a teenage girl tied up in a cellar. It zooms into the same feature that was at the beginning. 




How did we decide on which idea to choose?
We sat down as a group and we discussed about how we would go about the filming, and after considering all factors we decided to go for idea two as although some of the filming is outside, if the weather was so bad we could film in a shopping centre or another indoor facility and then the other part of the opening is filmed in the cellar. However, if we was to choose the other idea we'd always be relying on how the weather is as the girl on a street at night is a crucial part of the idea. 

Production Timetable

Kiss The Girls and The Butterfly Effect

Kiss the Girls

This would be an easy opening to recreate as it is set in a family home. Instead of the man being in a loft we would be able to use a cellar in which had a padlock on at all times. However the man would pick the lock at night and sneak out just like the man in kiss the girls. The only other thing that would need to be changed was him injecting them, instead of this the man could put a dissolving pill into their glass of water which will drug them.

The Butterfly Effect

Another film we would have to adapt in order to make it look more believable would be to set the scene in an office at school that has slated blinds and is a dark room. The rest of the scene is fairly manageable we could write the letter which is written by Ashton Kutcher in the film and do a close up shot on the words “save her” with the people still banging on the door. Also the street that is filmed “thirteen years later” could be a street in Rainham, Gillingham for example. The ‘Mum’ can be fixing a bike or washing the car instead of fixing the car. 

Preliminary Task Evaluation

For our preliminary task we had to create a short film clip, only about 15 seconds long which included an example of continuity, the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. 

My group (Amber Shelley, Grace Robinson, Katie Parkinson and I), first decided to do a parents evening situation. However, after filming it we realised that it was far too long for our preliminary task so we rethought and decided on our final task idea. 

Once we had completed filming we had to edit all our clips together so that it worked as well as we had planned. To edit this we used Final Cut Pro X. As a group we struggled with this as the software was completely new to us but after playing around with it and asking for help from others we began to become more comfortable with it, so now we are prepared for using this for our two minute film opening. My role in the preliminary task was acting in the film. We decided as a group that in the two minute opening for our coursework that each member of the group would use the camera at some point if possible so that we all gain the knowledge of how to work it. 

Once we had finished editing our clip, we watched through it and we realised that we had included an example of continuity and the 180 degree rule but when we had cut out bits to shorten it we had deleted the clips that we was going to use for the shot reverse shot and as it had to be included we went out and filmed the necessary bits. However, this meant that we were in completely different clothes than in all the original clips so when it comes to our final film opening we’re going to make sure that we have filmed everything we need and extra just incase we need to change things. 

The final problem that we faced was uploading our clips onto Blogger. For some reason once they had uploaded, they was not visible to watch. However after some help from the IT technicians we were able to upload them and watch them. 

I think our preliminary task was successful as it trained us with the necessary skills that we’ll need to use for our main two minute film opening. For example, using the camera’s, using the Final Cut Pro X software to edit and understanding why the three techniques we included are essential. 

Preliminary Task

This is my groups preliminary task. In this we had to include and example of three things; shot reverse shot, the 180 degree rule and continuity to practise for our real 2 minute film opening.

Fiction Conventions.

Action Adventure - An action adventure films will usually include a chase of some sort. Guns/weapons are always a part of this genre too. Also there's always that antagonist vs protagonist storyline. Usually set in exotic locations. 

Horror - Horror films usually have supernatural occurrences to make the viewer scared or unsettled. Possibly including the idea of demons, ghostly activity etc. Horror genre can usually overlap with Thriller.

Thriller - A thriller has to thrill the audience. In order to do this the usual plots include an antagonist and a protagonist. It may revolve around crime e.g murders, kidnappings, torture. Usually there will be a chase of some sort. Cliffhangers may be used in order to hook the audiences anticipation. Psychological plots are often used as this shocks the audience, building tension, making it more enjoyable.

Crime - Conventions in crime films are almost always going to have some sort of police/FBI in it. Sometimes it may contain some of the same conventions as sci-fi e.g scientific labs etc. There will be weapons such as guns, knifes. 

Romance - Most plots are generally similar when it comes to Romantic films. The main conventions will be a man, a woman, a problem and a happy ending. 

Comedy - Comedy films are usually part of a hybrid genre e.g Romantic Comedy. 

Why Media Studies?

I took Media Studies at GCSE and it was my favourite option. This resulted in me gaining an A in my exam. I thought that as I enjoyed it as much as I did in GCSE, surely it could only get better, so I chose it. It would’ve been a waste of an A if i just stopped there. 

Limitless Opening.

Limitless Opening Clip.

The genre for this film is action/thriller/sci-fi. The opening for this film is so effective when you watch it back after watching the film as you understand it more. It unravels new images, and the plot is that an illegal pill allows you to access all of your brain which unravels all new information for the consumer. The way that the camera view travels around New York is so imaginative and intrigues the audience from the very first second.