My Evaluation of the Visit to Location

Inside The Tunnel 

Outside The Tunnel

On this visit to the location we looked at the tunnel as a group and also looked around outside at the lighting around the area to see whether or not it was possible to film in certain locations or not. We found that the camera filmed really nicely in the tunnel with the focus going in and out creating a really interesting effect which would look good in our credits or whilst filming the fighting sequences. The grainy effect also was good as it had that CCTV camera feel when we played it back on the computer as it wasn't crisp clear and neither is CCTV footage when it is played back. Therefore it will work well with the static as it will follow up on one scene to the next and that is what we really wanted. We therefore decided that we wanted to film in the black and white to again conform with the ideas that it is like real CCTV footage rather than keeping it in colour. We also thought that, that would conform with the terror and tension for the scene and also with the black and white of the static as well.

When we went outside we looked around at the lighting and different places which we could film depending on how strong the lighting really was and therefore make it easier for when we went back in the dark another day. We found and really nice fountain which has three lights above it and also a part in the pathway and then track behind them with different camera shots to follow them to the tunnel. We also found a winding pathway which cuts out the restaurants that are around the area, however that could be quite interesting with the ambience that other people can't see the clown and therefore brings in the supernatural element. However without the lights actually being turned on that means that we couldn't film under any of the lights and therefore it made it difficult to judge whether or not it would bright enough for the camera in order to pick up the person or even the balloons and therefore we planned another visit in order to see the location in the dark. 

We took pictures whilst doing the test shots as well on another camera and this helps us track our progress and also is the proof of us filming the test shots on the location. It also means that we have more material on the blog in order to show our progress over time with more pictures later on. When we where in the tunnel the flash on the other camera was on and when we watched the video back we saw that it created a sort of strobe lighting effect which looks like flashes of light coming across the screen and this means that it could be used again in our filming later on.  

Male Protagonists

Male Protagonists

Hero

• Stereotypically brave and courageous male, often either completely selfish or selfless.
• Strong and physically able to protect themselves and others.
• Handsome and sexually attractive to both other characters and the audience.
• Protective father/son/boyfriend figure in dominance over female vulnerability.

Geek

• Socially awkward, few friends/small social group.
• Physically incapable of defending themselves or others.
• Usually young, teenage and unable to cope with growing up/being in high school.
• Easily scared, phobic of violence or any minor harmful activity. 

   Subversion

• Masculine male, physically fit and attractive.
• Able to defend themselves against other humans and protect others.
• Defeated by evil despite their powerful dominance.
• Overpowered by a threat originally thought to be far smaller than them.  

 (This would be most suitable for our chosen theme as we want to introduce an immediate sense of danger to our audience within our opening scene and we feel by choosing a victim to unexpectedly be defeated it can demonstrate how large a threat our killer is, establishing it as the plot would continue for the duration of the film.) 

Unseen/Seen Entities

This trailer uses both seen and unseen entities. 
The part of this trailer that shows an unseen entity is the scene with the rocking horse.

This scene is really effective because we begin to wonder what is rocking the rocking horse. Also, the fact that we cannot see what is doing this, puts nearly all of our focus on the sound. 
Seen as sound is very important in horror films, it makes sense to put a lot of the focus on it.


Pros of using an unseen entity;

• No need for an extra actor
• More focus on easier things; ie sound
• Seems more eerie
• No special effects/makeup etc needed
• Possibly scarier as we cannot see what is causing all of the problems 

Cons of using an unseen entity;

• Can look tacky
• Difficult to be different from other films 
• If the sound isn't perfect then it would not have the same effect

However, this trailer does also have a see entity.

Although it's effective to have all of our focus on sound, I think that this is also a perfect example for why we should use a seen entity. 
Generally, it's the surprise element that makes it much more exciting. In a supernatural horror, we do not expect to see the thing causing all of the problems and, when we are faced with this, we are surprised.

Pros of using a seen entity;

• Surprise factor
• Chance to do something completely different and new
• Effective without sound

Cons of using a seen entity;

• Hard work to think of a new idea
• Makeup could be problematic 
• Having to rely on another actor could cause further problems 
• Once the audience has seen the killer once, it might not be as scary after that

Costume

Antagonist Costume

Clothing-wise the killer will wear clothing typical of a clown but with dark colouring. Red and black costumes are our desired choice as we want to easily demonstrate that the clown connotes evil and danger and foreshadows death as soon as it is seen onscreen, creating a sense of fear. It is also important that the costume hides any gender behind the character as we want them to remind anonymous and unrelated to humanity as much as possible, not giving it any human or gender specific qualities to detach it from the victim and the audience.

A pair of large, old, distressed boots would help define the survival of the killer and their ability to still be standing. A pair of red or black boots would be more suitable for this purpose as if using red, a close up shot of the clown's feet could be used to introduce them onscreen for the first time having seen the red balloons and establish a connection between them.

Pairing a creepy clown painted face with a pair of red contact lenses enables us to re-enforce the lack of humanity and innocent within the killer and again, detach them from any possibly empathy or reasoning behind their actions. Also, it suggests the contrast between itself and society's view of what clowns are (humans in comic clothing), establishing that this evil is not related.

Story Board

Story Board

Part 1

1. The opening shot will be of the protagonist walking down the road listening to music through his head phones. The music that is playing through his headphones will be the sound for the scene and therefore we will be using non diegetic sound. We have made the protagonist male in order to create a subversion towards the gender and make them more vulnerable. The shot will be under street lamps and will pan with the actor towards the tunnel.

2. This will be an over the shoulder shot showing the antagonist (clown) standing in the background behind our protagonist holding a balloon which will be used for a symbolic/breadcrumb trail throughout the opening as though it is the clowns mark that she is there. The clown will be a female and therefore it will be a female attacking a male completely contrasting what people think when they divide the genders.

3. This will be a tracking shot following the protagonist into the tunnel capturing the old artitechture as well. There will be another balloon in the mouth of the tunnel showing that there is danger due to the clown holding an exact replica of the one in this shot. The sound will stay non diegetic of the protagonists music playing through his headphone. The clown won't appear in this shot in order to show that it has disappeared. 

4. The next shot will be on the stairs at a high angle (unsure as to whether or not this will be CCTV) in order to follow the protagonist down the stairs. There will only be the clowns feet in this shot in order to show that it is following him and also another balloon will appear showing that the trail is becoming more progressive and has that supernatural element. 

5. It will then cut to the CCTV static in order to show that the form of filming the scene has changed from one mode to another and that it will become a high angle in order to follow CCTV regulations.

6. Now the camera is at a high angle filming down on both of the characters and the protagonist walks into the shot with the clown already there - supernatural element - holding another one of the balloons and tries to pass the clown but cannot. There is no sound as the CCTV only picks up movement. This then cuts to static again.

7. The next shot after the static is of the struggle between the two characters starting and that the balloon stays in the top corner of the shot in order to keep that significant element for ever there. The direction which the camera is filming in changes to show that there is more than one CCTV camera. It is stop motion from this point on to show staggered movement and this is divided by the static cutting in and out.

8. CCTV position switches again after the static to another shot of them struggling between each other but now we see that the protagonist is starting to fail in their fight to win over the antagonist. There is still no sound and this makes it more sinister as you cannot hear anything its just happening in front of our eyes.

Part 2

9. The CCTV becomes more central to the tunnel and it shows the protagonist dead at the front of the scene but because the scene cut at static before the audience don't know how he died and what she did and therefore it makes it also slightly psychological horror as well. The clown is standing away from the body re holding the balloon and staring into the camera. Some none diegetic score could start playing hear in the theme of carnival music. Camera still on high angle. 

10. Still central with the tunnel and now the clown is much closer after the CCTV static and therefore this shows that it is coming closer towards the camera that is filming. The sound could be getting increasingly louder for the audience in order to build up the tension. 

11. Cuts to static again but this time it is a little bit longer and the music score could also cut out at this time with just the non diegetic sound of the static sound in the back ground.

12. The CCTV comes back in and this time the clowns face is right in the screen and therefore this creates the jump factor for the audience and creates an intimate distance making the viewer feel uncomfortable which is generally used in a horror movie to create awkwardness. A loud sound could play in order to emphasise on the jump factor and then it cuts to credits. 

Screams

A horror film would not be complete without the screams of the protagonist. But, as we are undecided about whether to use a male or female, we decided to research which screams sound best.

Female;

Male;

Although the male scream has sound effects over it, I think that it is a lot scarier because it subverts the normal conventions of what we see in horror films today. We were discussing that having a male protagonist would be different, especially if he is first to die. 

However, the female scream is a lot more recognised. It would be easier to recreate and seems more appropriate for the film. 

I think that the major difference between these two sound effects are that, the female is screaming in fear, whereas the man is screaming in pain. This makes it quite difficult to compare them. Though, it is very difficult to find a scene in a film where the man is the one who is screaming, so to speak. 

Overall, I think it would be much easier to use a female scream. But the idea of having a male protagonist is much more interesting as the subversion could confuse the audience, which is good because it makes the film a lot scarier.

Greenwich Tunnel On Location

Greenwich Foot Tunnel Visit

INSIDE

OUTSIDE

Sunday 16th December - 8:00am
I visited the Greenwich foot tunnel in order to see whether or not it would be suitable in order to film in and also to see how many people passed through the tunnel early in the morning. When I first entered the top of the tunnel it looked quite old with obvious work which has been stopped on the stairs resulting in unfrequent lighting down the stairs which matches inside of the tunnel and therefore it may be a good idea to start the CCTV on the stairs in order to carry on that lighting theme throughout. The lighting in the tunnel is shown in High Contrast lighting creating circular shadows and part of the light which would be good in order to show antagonist and protagonist by placing the characters in different lighting. I also attached my camera to a broom in order to show it being filmed from a CCTV height so that you can see from a high point of view of the camera and also various other places we could put it in order to show where the camera could be placed. Apart from a couple of people who pass through there is no one there at that time plus earlier in the morning and therefore you might have to get there around 6:30-7:00am to having a good amount of filming time before it starts to get busy around 10am but that is something to decide as a group as to what time we would all be happy to get there. There is a lot of dirt up the walls of the tunnel with scratch like marks of the stairs making it extremely con notable to horror/supernatural.
Outside it is too bright in the morning to create the dark effect however there are quite a few lights out which will create the street like effect. Around the back of the tunnel entrance there is the skyline of London which will create a nice backdrop in order to start the opening or it could be shown when  the camera is panning with the actor to the tunnel entrance. Also there is a college and pub nearby which could supply reasons for that person being there which is also handy in order to tell the audience what type of person the protagonist is and what their background may be. There is also the Cutty Sark in the middle of the area which is also another landmark which people will recognise and therefore interesting shots could be taken through the glass that surrounds the bottom of it without getting the camera in the shot as well. To film at night would be a good idea and therefore by having a few people around it indicates that although it is late it isn't busy therefore indicating it being set around 11pm etc.
Overall it was a successful visit to the location.