Script: Question 6

In terms of how we have developed in our use of technology, we have learnt a lot about different aspects not only of filming but also of the editing process, plus music creation. When filming we came across a few problems and therefore before fully setting into filming we decided to practice a few times before we set about doing it properly. We decided to make filming equipment such as using a household broom in order to get the camera into the top of the tunnel and therefore get the right angle into filming.(CCTV Footage Blog Post) We wanted to use a high angle in filming in the tunnel in order to conform with the conventions of CCTV cameras which usually films at higher angles in order to capture a wide area. We attached the camera to the broom through using the gorilla pod which proved extremely useful in keeping the camera steady also when we were filming outside as well. In terms of filming in the dark we had to research the camera because it wasn’t picking up on any detail for example when we where filming the skyline of London.(Blog Post 3rd Location Visit) Therefore through researching the technology of the camera we discovered that there was an IA button which dealt with the problem as it would manually set the camera to the correct setting of filming in the dark. We wanted to film at a POV shot for the outside scenes as we wanted to see the journey from the protagonists point of view before it jump cuts to static. The point of using the POV shot is to put the audience in his shoes before taking them out of them and removing them from the death scene. Finally for the montage scene we used a series of different shots from close ups, to high angles, to extreme close ups, panning and wide angles. We have learnt a lot about using iMovie in the editing process from when we first used it in our Prelim.(Lily's Editing Blog Post) We have used a lot more of the transitional devices and also the editing techniques which you can use on the clip itself such as speeding the clip up or down, the effects, removing sound and adjusting the stabilization. This is most prominent in the montage scene where we cut the shots extremely short (mainly under a second) and then integrated short parts of the neck breaking throughout to show it as a death scene. We added the SCI-FI effect to each shot apart from the last as the colour green connotes the ideas of consumption and illness. The last shot has the clowns face half dark indicating that the protagonists eyes are closing and therefore death has struck.(Montage Scene Editing) The montage scene has a lot of the iMovie effects added to it through each having the sound removed and sped up along with a suitable effect attached in order to conform with the genre we have.  Through the editing process we where able to put in our terminology and therefore include a lot of jump cuts and cross cutting in order to make it flow but with a twist. Linear narrative and continuity editing run throughout as all events are carried out in the correct time and order.(Editing Sound to Film Post) Through editing we wanted to bring the element of fear and therefore paired it with the sound which was collected from different sources such as YouTube, own made and Sound Cloud which was then edited on a piece of software called Audacity. We spread the job of music out amongst each other in order to get more mixed views on what each part should sound like.(Final Music Choices Post) For example at the beginning we wanted more fast, paced and bass like music and therefore went for the drums however at the end we opted for a more silent atmosphere in order to emphasize on the death scene rather than have musical distractions. All Diegetic sound has been eradicated from the scenes because of the location sound being inadequate and therefore we decided that Non diegetic sound would have more of a effect. Each piece of editing which we did was consulted among all of us and therefore this meant that we all had a say in what we where doing in the entire process. Our knowledge of the technology has definitely improved by miles and therefore this means that by the end we felt much more confident in what we were doing and what parts of the editing software we wanted to use in order to create the correct effect. 

Music Editing onto Film

Editing Music

Beginning

This is the beginning part of the music editing in which we have use my own piece of music which is a fast and bass drum which conforms with our opening scene which is also very fast paced. We wanted to keep the music more stark rather than really over layed and too disorientating. I had to drag the clip forward because the music started too late into the credits and therefore this meant that we had to adjust it slightly. I also faded out the end in order to make sure that it didn't fade over into the skyline shot.

POV Shot

With the POV shot we wanted to make the music eerie in order to conform with it being dark and also that the clown appears in random shots throughout. We therefore got the majority of the music from SoundCloud and then edited it on Audacity to speed up and also distort to make them uncomfortable for the viewer. We then over layed them together and discovered that they worked reall well, plus with the Drama Dark Suspense sound from iMovie then then added the small noises to it that were not avalible before. The breathing begins when he walks into the tunnel and therefore you can tell that as the clown gets closer to him it starts to affect him in a particular way and therefore conforms with what is happening even though he cannot see the clown. This therefore conforms with a supernatural genre as before the character comes into contact with the antagonist there is usually eerie or suspenseful music closely followed by the emphasised sound of them breathing over the top in order to show fear or anxiety.

Tunnel

For the CCTV shots we decided to use a more carnival type of music and therefore this means that the death is approaching and the clown is gradually getting closer to him. It also goes with his walking and when the clips cut it smoothly transitions back after static without being too mixed up. The music is interrupted by the sound of the white noise and also the static image which is sudden and breaks the scene up into different segments of filming and also music. We then layered a Heartbeat which came from iMovie and this therefore creates tension because if you can hear someones heartbeat it makes the viewers beat slightly faster making them feel anxious and also perhaps implying that something is going to occur soon. The heartbeat is also cut out by the static and therefore implies that the tape is changing from one to another.

Montage Scene

For the montage scene we decided to get our music from the internet and in particular music box music which is more high pitched and dream like rather than the others. We did think about possibly using a high pitched frequency but instead found that the music box was just as effective. The music fits really well with the film inlcuding when he looks from side to side and the music beats follow in time with it. The static in the beginning is longer and therefore this meant that it showed a change taking place and something bad is going to happen. The music for the montage scene was the most important as it is the most stand out scene and therefore the music had to show this as well rather than diverting on a differnt tangent which would have confused the viewer.

Ending

For the final scene we decided to cut out the music and leave it as just silence along with the interrupting parts of static which cut up the film. By having it as silence at the end it makes it much more sinister and conforms with the fact that he has just died because not only has the music gone but also the heart beat which therefore confirms that the protagonist is dead. I think that the scene works really well without any other sounds because this means that you solely focus on the scene and the fact that he has just been killed rather than over doing it with a lot of music. 

Montage Editing

We put the clips in a timeline with the music as it shows the progression of the death. This was simply done by dragging the clips from the saved files and putting them in order. The order was storyboarded beforehand so that we knew how to  get it right. 

We decided to edit the clip because we had to make it appear more supernatural. So here, we changed the speed of the montage to 340%. This speed meant that there is more of a surprise factor about the montage because you never know what is coming next as it is going so fast. We also had to change the duration of the clip to make sure that the montage was even quicker. 

Changing the audio on the clip was very important because of the non-diegetic sound that we wanted to put over the top. We therefore had to get rid of any diegetic sound that may have come with the clips that we edited together. This was simply done by completely cutting the audio volume on inspector. Inspector allows for any background noise to be diminished which is very important.

Editing the video colour was also important because the exposure etc have to be exactly right in order for the full effect of the images to hit. The high contrast allows for the makeup on the clown to become a lot darker and it also allows for more shadows to appear, making the image scarier to look at.

Adding an effect to the clown image in particular was really simple. We just had to choose the image that we wanted to edit and then choose the effect. After scrolling through all of the different effects, we decided upon Sci Fi as the green tint to the image conforms to the expectations of a supernatural horror film - it implys the presence of a supernatural being.

Obviously, incorporating the actual death scene in the montage was necessary because we wanted the audience to understand what exactly was going on and not confuse them with the montage. This was simply done by dragging from the saved files in our media folder and cutting them down to the appropriate length. We chose not to make them too long as we wanted the focus to be on the other images.

Film Certificate.

Film Certificate.

From looking at the regulations of the film certificate and the different categories, we have decided that out film fits into the 12/12A Section, rather than a 15. Below is the explanation to how we have reached this decision. 

The Regulations for a 15 film are: ( Taken from the BBFC Official Website)

• strong violence
• frequent strong language (eg 'f***').
• portrayals of sexual activity
• strong verbal references to sex
• sexual nudity
• brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
• discriminatory language or behaviour
• drug taking

After looking at this list of Regulations, that are included in a 15 film, I looked back and watched our film opening, to which we have none of the above Criteria, as our violence scene is broken up showing very little of the actual death scene, we have no dialogue so there is no room for swearing and no sexual references or drug taking. So our film can defiantly not be rated a  15. 

So after deciding against 15 completely, I looked up the requirements for a 12A/12. Which I felt would fit the film opening a lot more than a 15. 

The requirements for a 12 Film are: ( Taken from the BBFC Official Website)

• Violence is present, but is not shown in detail or dwelled upon. 

• Moderate physical and psychological threat. 

• Action sequences and weapons may be present, but should not be glamorised. 

These were the most relevant points from the 12 rating that I think we completely comply with. The violence in our clip is present, but there is no clear detail or gore shown, which shows we meet the first criteria point, and we have also not dwelled upon this as it moves swiftly on, and only focuses on certain clips of violence for around 2 seconds, so the audience do not have time to pick up on the detail of the violence. There is a moderate physical and psychological threat, but it is not too frequent, and constant throughout the trailer.  As for the action sequences and weapons, we have included a few weapons within our montage sequence, but they are not glamorised, and are infrequent, and not dwelled upon, showing that we have stuck to the guidelines of a 12 rating, and we are not advertising weaponry to a 12 year old audience. 

Chosen Typography

When editing the credits for our film opening, we had to choose a font.
We chose

   

We chose this font because we thought that it was appropriate and matched the story line of our film very well because it looks rather sinister.
We also chose to make the font red for many reasons;

• connotes danger/blood
• bright against the black and white background
• more eye-catching 
• can be linked to the red balloons and parts of the clown costume 

Chosen Name.

Chosen Name

Our chosen name for our film opening is Smile. We have chosen this as we feel that it sums up the contents of the film opening in one word, and is catchy and easy to remember. It is also a contrast and opposite, with the meaning taken in a different way, as it sounds light and happy, which is the complete opposite of what is included within our film opening. It also relates to the clown element which we want to include within the name. So all in all, we feel that Smile is the name that represents our film opening the best, and was also the name which had the highest amounts of votes from our target audience.

Shooting Script 2.05.2013

Location:
Greenwich Park and the Greenwich Foot Tunnel

Shots we where filming:

• Extra death scene shots which include close ups and longer shots which meant that the death was captured as last time my camera decided to cut at the one point before the entire shot was fully finished and therefore this meant that we needed to return in order to do some more disorientating and more focused death shots. 
• We also went into Greenwich park with Lily dressed as the clown and then filmed her on the Band Stand which looks quite relatable to a circus and also we did one of her behind a tree which makes her look mysterious and scary. 
• We also filmed the stairs shots which were deleted by accident last time but we have them just incase they need to be included in order to show him walking down the stairs etc. 

Time we got there:

• We got there around 1pm and therefore the buses were running slow so whilst we were waiting for Chloe and Josh we decided to go to Greenwich park in order to film a couple more shots in order to use in the montage scene and therefore got more stuff filmed than we had planned to.
• We then all met up around 2:30pm at the tunnel and then filmed in therefore around 30-45 minutes doing some more death scene footage in order to speed up and edit in the class on the monday.
• We then left around 4:00pm after looking around to see if there were any other footage moments however no where else seemed suitable and therefore we decided to go home. 

Props which we took with us:
. We took the camera in order to film and before we went we searched up the camera and found out that it had an IA setting which meant that the skyline would film in a better quality.
. We also took the tripod (Gorilla Stand) which wraps around objects and therefore made it easier in order to film the skyline as we attached it too the beam and then it was steady when it filmed.

Who went:
Lily, Becky, Chloe and Josh