Final Rough Cut Feedback

Before I finish the final edit, I got another round of feedback from the class about what went well and what could be improved.

To respond to the feedback, I will slow the credits down so people are able to read them. I will also increase the brightness in the videos so it's not too dark to see.

Insitution Logos

I have researched different institution logos to inspire me for my own logo design:

Warner Bros is an American entertainment company. It is a conglomerate and owns a various number of subsidiaries such as new line cinema and DC Entertainment. There are many different variations of the logo depending on the genre of film, however, the main logo has the colour scheme of blue and gold. As illustrated above, for one of their horror films, the logo has been altered with the colour scheme of black and grey. This immediately sets off the tone and shows what type of film it is going to be.

Another institution well known for producing horror films is Universal which is an American film company. Their logo is of an image of Earth from space to suit it's name. Unlike Warner Bros, the logo remains the same in all their horror films.

In contrast to Warner Bros, Lionsgate only has one other variation of their logo specifically for horror films. The colour scheme is red and black which, as mentioned before, represent danger. They are a well known institution for producing the franchise Saw.

A production company which is dedicated to only horror films is Dark Castle Entertainment which is an American film company. The colours clearly show what genre of films that they produce.

I have decided that I want my company to produce not just films of the horror genre. Similar to Lionsgate, I will design a logo that suits all the genres, and then change the colour scheme to match our horror film. Therefore, I will design my logo based on the research that I have learnt about institution logos so far and apply it to my own design.

The different designs

As IMCM productions is a British film company, I have decided that the logo would include landmarks in London.

 Out of all three designs, I particularly liked the second one. I will continue to develop the second design and begin to add colours and animation to it.

The Process

First I designed the logo using Serif Draw.

After, I added in the background colours and details. This was meant to be the main logo for IMCM Productions. I chose the colour blue because it will appeal to both genders.

The main logo was then altered to match the horror genre for the main brief. The background colour was changed to red because the colour red is typical within a horror film.

The Final Design

Post-production: Sound Effects and Background Music

For the majority of background music, we have chosen a track from imcomptech.com called 'Giant Wryn'. The instruments used was Piano, Synths and Brass. These instruments gave off an eerie, dark and unnerving feel to it which created an atmosphere of being on edge. We felt that this piece was appropriate and used it during the scenes which were shot outside.

Using YouTube to MP3 converter we found different sound effects to use:

We have decided to replace the whispering voice near the end because it did not seem very scary. The audio file was also too quite so the audience couldn't hear it. Therefore, we decided to have the diegetic sound of a knife drawing to hint that something bad is going to happen. Before anything is shown, the audience would just hear the sound effect, and then the screen would turn black to create a cliff hanger.

We cut the clip shorter, to be used a diegetic sound effects. This gives the protagonist and the audience a sense that someone is in the garden.

The footsteps could also not be heard so we changed it to a glass bottle smashing. This is so that it would seem that the protagonist has taken off her earphones because the noise had caught her attention.

Post-production: Sound

Here is the list of sound effects I will need for the main brief.

-Rustling Leaves
-Whispering Voices
-Police Car Sirens

To look for suitable background music, I went onto YouTube to look for copyright free music. Once I found the ones I wanted, I copied the URL link into an online mp3 converter to change it into an audio file. Once it was imported into WeVideo, I then edited it by changing the volume and cutting out the parts I did not want.

I also got music from a copyright free website called Imcompetech and downloaded it onto the computer. I found that there was a wide range of different music to suit the genre of horror.

New and Updated Recces

Since we have decided to extend the scene by the house, we will be filming inside as well. Here are some of the new recces:

The kitchen was and ideal location because there is a lot of glass which signifies that the potagonist is very vulnerable due to glass being easy to break. It also hints to the audience that someone is watching from the outside. This can be shown by filming the windows from the outside as if someone is peering in.

This is the back of the house from the garden. This photo was taken around 4;45pm just as it was about to get dark. The time of day we film is very important because most horror films are set at night so we have decided to film late. However, we have decided not film film past 6pm becuase it will be too dark and won't be sufficent lighting.

Changes to the Script

As me and Izzy decided that the original script was too long, some changes have been made to cut down the length. We have applied the new ideas for the narrative into this new script.

Script

Flashing back to the day of the murder, we see Kirstie in a large house. She is dressed in normal clothes, jeans and a top with her hair hanging loosely. She sits down by the kitchen table and decides to ring her sister.

Kirstie: Hi Louise May, I'm just calling to see if you are okay? You haven't been picking up your calls all day. Anyway, I'm just going round Nan's for a bit so I'll see you later, bye.

Kirstie hears a mysterious noise outside and leaves her seat to investigate by the window. There is nothing. She turns to leave the house and then slams her large wooden door. Whilst walking down the road, there are strange noises behind her but she takes no notice. It is dusk, so the visibility is limited. Continuing her walk down the dark streets, with only street lights to keep the street alight. Kirstie begins to walk down a dark alley way. In the background, we can see footsteps approaching the alleyway then turning back on themselves.

Kirstie begins to hear mysterious noises. As it is dark and there is no one around, Kirstie decides to put her earphones in to cancel out the mysterious noises and begins to pick up her pace. We then see a dark figure walking briskly across in the distance. A quick whisper is heard above the music.

Mysterious Voice (The Demon): Kirstie.

Kirstie hears the voice faintly and  takes off her earphones to listens out for noises. There is silence but suddenly, the voice appears again.The voices start taunting her in her head, but Kirstie is too frightened to move. Her breathing begins to get faster.

Kirstie: Shut up, you're not real. (Whispering frantically)

She can now feel someone over her shoulder. 

The Demon: Turn around Kirstie.

Scared for her life, Kirstie begins running as fast as her lungs will possibly take her.

Camera cuts to a television screen. It is playing the morning news.

T.V Presenter: Your news at 9. Yesterday morning, a school girl from East London, Kirstie Carter, was declared dead by Newham Police in the early hours this morning. Suspects are currently being questioned and the police are urging anyone with information to contact the police immediately. 

Camera cuts to a dark staircase.

From a dark staircase, a policewoman walks up and into a dark cramp interview room. She is very tall and has her hair scraped back in a high, tight, ponytail. She has a strong, bold, striking face and looks extremely confident. In the room, a teenager girl, with little colour to her face sits alone. Always looking to the ground, she looks scared and vulnerable. Her hair appears to be knotty, almost as if it hadn't been washed or brushed in weeks and the bags under her eyes seem to be increasing in size by the minute. The young girl now has her head in her hands and is clearly distressed.

Officer Smith: Tell me the truth Louise May.

Officer Smith throws an image of Kristie onto the table in front of her.

Officer Smith: (In a low voice) What happened to her?

Louise May looks up slowly and pauses briefly. She is looking frightened.

Louise May: (Whispers) The Demon did it.

Louise May looks directly at the camera as her eyes turn black. 

The title appears on screen: The Demon.

Changes to the Narrative

Based on the feedback we received, we have decide to alter the narrative. Instead of Kirstie being questioned, a new character would be instead. This change would make the scene seem more mysterious as we do not know what has happened to Kirstie. It would increase curiosity and would also incorporate Barthe's Enigma Code into the narrative.

Here is the new character that is being introduced:

Name: Louise May Carter
Age: 18 years old
Background: Louise May was adopted by Kirstie's parents when she was only young. Although Kirstie and her family welcomed her in with open arms, she has always been jealous of Kirstie and envied her. Even though Louise May is extremely close with her sister Kirstie, she has always craved the attention she receives. 
Personality: Louise May is far more confident and outgoing than Kirstie. She is a sporty person who'd rather be outdoors than inside. 

Plot: On screen is showing a news report about a recent murder of a teenage girl. We then flash back to where Kirstie is sitting inside a large house. She decides to ring her sister as she hasn't seen her all day. It goes straight to voicemail. After the phone call, Kirstie leaves the house. As she walks, she begins to hear mysterious noises. To drown the noises out, she puts on her earphones and picks up the pace down a dark alleyway. A dark shadowy figure walks briskly across in the distance. Kirstie sees and stops for a brief moment. She the carries on walking with her music playing loudly. There is suddenly a sharp whisper by her hear. Due to her loud music, she does not hear it very well as takes it off to listen for more noises. Voices begin to taunt her out of nowhere and she begins to get frightened. Suddenly The Demon appears behind her, and sensing someone is behind her, she runs. We then flash to a new location in an interview room. A Police Officer throws down a photo of Kristie on the table in front. Opposite, is a young girl (Louise May) who looks down at the photo. The Officer asks who did it and the girl replies in a whisper, 'The Demon'. 

As the narrative has changed, we will have to re-film. To plan out how we are going to film the alleyway, a map was drawn out which pinpoints where the camera, main character and antagonist are going to be. It also maps the movement of the camera and characters so we know what angle to fillm at.

Trials of Different Shots

To prepare for the second round of filming, we have decided to trail different shots and angles to make it seem as if someone is watching from behind. To do this we tried out panning and tracking shots. In the main brief, POV shots and over the shoulder shots would also be used. I think that these shots are effective because it gives the sense that someone is following. This would create tension and suspense which matches the genre of horror.

Planning the Title

Based on the questionnaire, I have applied the results to the most voted fonts to see what the title screen would look like. As the most popular colours were white and red, I have used both for the title. To make the transition between the white and red seem seamless, I have added a different animation for each one.

Rough Cut

From the current footage that we have, I have done a quick edit of the shots to use as a guide to how we want the final scene to look. This was done without adding sound effects. The rough cut is of the alleyway scene which is about 2 minutes long.

Evaluation of the rough cut:

Overall, I think that the framing was quite good. This was because we set the camera to have a grid and used the rule of thirds to position where the camera should be.

. However, a lot of the clips do not match up which decreases the continuity and it does not look as seamless. This happened because many of the clips were filmed over two different days. Consequently, the position of the props and actors was not the same as before. It would affect the overall opening greatly as it does not flow well which can make it seem unprofessional.

Furthermore, As the opening was filmed outside, there was a lot of unwanted background noise such as cars and the wind. Since a microphone was used, it also picked up quieter noises which can ruin the effect of making the area seem isolated. However, this problem can be solved by muting the clips and adding the sound effects and dialogue when editing. Additionally, the sound levels did not match up as well. Some would have quieter dialogue and louder background noise whilst others had no background noise at all. This made it difficult to edit as the sound levels did not match up.

The problems of filming outside was that the lighting changed. This was shown during the second half of the rough cut where the lighting has changed proving that the two shots were filmed at different times. To solve this, we should film the shots in chronological order.

Something that has stood out to me the most was that many of the clips were unfocused. This has affected the opening negatively because it would make it seem unprofessional and also makes it difficult to watch. An important part of the scene was the writing on the letter. This was not possible as the unfocused camera made it hard to see what the writing due to being blurry. For the next round of filming, we will be very careful to make sure the camera is focused at all times.

A small flaw that I had noticed near the end was that the microphone could be seen in the shot. This was caused by the microphone being held out. Fortunately, this can easily be solved by holding the microphone further back so it isn't in the way.

In conclusion, we have decide to re-film all the clips entirely but we will be filming around 4:30pm just as it is about to get dark. This will suit the horror genre more as it has a more eerie atmosphere and there will be less people.

Costume and Makeup

For Emily's character, we wanted to portray her as vulnerable. To show this, we have decided for her makeup to be minimal and subtle. This would also emphasise her innocence and would create a character that the audience would root for.

We got the inspiration from the protagonist from Scream. She is wearing hardly any makeup as to not sexuality her, and her clothes are pale colours to suggest purity.

Her costume would be what a typical teenage girl would wear of converse and a simple top. This would make her seem more relatable.

For The Demon, the mask would be black and white, which looks almost like a skeleton. The outfit would be all black to symbolise death and fear. When playing this role, Izzy's hair would be tied up so it is not shown. The costume for this character is not very realistic but we have decided that it did not matter as much because The Demon would always be standing in the distance and there will not be close-ups of the face. 

Chosen Actors

After discussion, here are our final casting choices:

Kirstie

Kirstie will be played by a 16 year old girl. This is appropriate because the age is similar to what we intended the character to be. It was a convenient choice as well as Emily goes to the same sixth form so contacting her was easy.

The Demon

The Demon would be played by Izzy Martin who is also 16. We have made this choice as the face would not be seen so it would not affect the main brief. The Demon would also make little appearance during the opening sequence. We have decided for Izzy to play the role based on her height. She is quite tall which would make The Demon seem more daunting. 

Officer Smith

The police officer would be played by Martine Smith who is 17 years old. This is because Martine has a suitable appearance to play the role. Her schedule is quite open which would make it ideal.

Casting Choices

Kirstie

For the role of Kirsty, we found two people who would be ideal.

Emily, 16 years olf

 Emily is suited for the role because she is a proffesional actress. Therefore, her performance would be seen as quite realistic and believable. She is also the same age as Kirstie and has a siliar appearance to what we thought Kirstie would look like. However, a downside is that Emily has quuite a busy schedule which could be problematic as there might not be times where she is avaiable to film.

Chelsea, 16 years old

Me and Izzy considered for me to play the role of Kirstie as it makes it easier to arrange filming dates. I also am a similar age to Kirstie which is advantageoud. However, I am not a proffesioanl actress so my performance would not come off as believable.

Officer Smith

We found several people to play the role of Officer Smith. To decide who would be allocated for the role, I've compared them against each other to decide who would be suited.

Isabel, 16 years old

Again, we have considered casting someone who is already in the group. We have decided that Izzy  is suited for the role. We thought her appearance matched Officer Smith. Her personality is quite confident which makes her ideal. Also, Izzy's schedule is quite open which would leave us a lot of time to film. However, it would also be difficult to film as there is only two of us in a group.

Martine, 17 years old

We thought that Martine met the requirements for the role of the police officer. This is because she is quite tall and confident (which is what we described Officer Smith in the script), therefore, she is qutie suited. She has also had some experience in acting and will also be available most of the time as this particular scene would be set in school.

Emma, 17 years old 

Emma is suited for the role because she suits the appearance of Officer Smith. She is also an experienced actress as she takes A level drama. However, in terms of availability, she has quite a busy schedule which may not be ideal.

The Demon

As The Demon does not reveal it's face during the opening and does not have any dialogue, the character has a very open specification. Therefore, a wide range of people can be considered for this role. The only requirement is that the person should quite tall to match the profile of the character.

Props and Costumes

Costumes:

Kirstie - Kirstie is the protagonist who is seen as vulnerable and scared. Her costume would be what a typical teenage girl would wear: a pair of jeans and a baggy, loose t-shirt with black converse. The costume would look disheveled and dirty. This would ensure that she will not only fit our narrative, but also leads the audience to believe that she might be guilty of murder. Moreover, the fact that she is seen wearing the same outfit in the flashback on the day of the murder, with only neater hair and fresher makeup, will reveal to the audience that she has had no sleep and had been up restless all night.

Officer Smith - The policewoman will be wearing regular police uniform with a traditional white shirt and black tie. To signify her authority, she will also be wearing a recognizable police hat accompanied with a radio/walkie-talkie. She will have her hair tied up in a low neat bun which reflects on her personality as a tidy organised person, and will be wearing minimal makeup.

The Demon - As The Demon is not actually a human being, we do not want the audience to see what the character actually looks like until the end. The Demon would not be seen much in any close up shots, therefore, it's features would not be very distinctive. The costume would be entirely black expect for a white mask disguising the face. This would fit our narrative as we want it to be mysterious and to heighten the fear factor. However, at the end of the film (which would not be shown in the main brief), The Demon would reveal it's face to be distorted and stitched up.

Props:

Our props should be minimal as we are filming outside for most of the opening.

• Laptop - This is used when the policewoman uses it during the questioning.
• Radio - The radio will be playing in the beginning announcing the suspected murder of Kirstie's sister.
• Walkie-talkie - It is used for the policewoman to communicate for backup a the end of the opening.

To make the policewoman's office more realistic we will have to add more props which are typically in an office room:

• Sheets of paper
• Filing Cabinet
• Binders
• Clock
• Telephone

The alleyway scene:

• Fake blood - the fake blood would be splattered on the floor, leaving a trail.
• Envelope - An envelope would be left on the floor. It would be covered in blood and addressed to Kristie. Inside would be a letter written in blood.

Pre-production: Character Analysis

Name: Kirstie
Age: 16 years old
Background: Kirstie is a 16 year old girl who is an only child. She lives at home with her two loving parents who are very wealthy. However, her parents work long shifts everyday and so she hardly gets to see them. She has very few friends but they are very close with her. Kirstie also does well in school and recieves good grades frequently. Her best friend envies her intelligence and often teases her about it.
Personality: Kirstie is a kind-hearted girl who enjoys reading. She is generally quite distant from other people and likes to be alone.

Name: Officer Smith
Age: 22 years old
Background: Recently being hired as a police office, she is very proud of what she has accomplished. She has an older sibling who has a well paid job. She envies her but tries to work hard to be like her. Officer Smith has also been appointed to take on a murder case which is a large achievement in hopes to please her strict parents. Her boyfriend has recently proposed to her and will be getting married in the near future. This however, displeases her parents, so therefore, Officer Smith is determined to do well.
Personality: She is a very hard-working person who sometimes overworks herself. This can sometimes be quite stressful, resulting in her being irritated easily. However, on the inside, she is a sympathetic person who cares alot for her family.

Name: Has no real name but is known as The Demon
Age: Unkown
Background: It is a supernatural being. There has been many sightings of it before in the past but has been dismissed as fake. It tends to form attachments to people and kill them by possessing someone.
Personality: It is a very dangerous being who enjoys tormenting innocent people.

Risk Assessment

When filming, we need to minimise the the hazards as much as possible. To weigh out the possible risks, a table was drawn out listing out all the potential hazards and what we could do to prevent it. We also rated how high we thought the possibility was.

This table has helped us become more aware about the likely hazards. Therefore, we now know what to be careful of when filming to make it as safe as possible.

Pre-production: Script

Me and Izzy planned out a draft of the script before writing up the final version. This is so that it is a base for the main script. The final script would be more detailed. The reason why a draft was written up, is so that the script can be improved and changes could be made so that the final script is at its strongest.

Script

In a dark cramped interview room, a teenager girl, with little colour to her face sits alone. Always looking to the ground, she looks scared and vulnerable. Her hair appears to be knotty, almost as if it hadn't been washed or brushed in weeks and the bags under her eyes seem to be increasing in size by the minute. Sitting on the side is a small radio blasting out the top morning stories.

Radio host: Your news at 9. Yesterday morning, a school girl from East London, Kirstie Carter, was declared a suspect of a murder on her own sister. Ellie Rose Carter was announced dead by the police a few hours ago and is currently asking for anyone with information to contact the police immediately. 

The policewoman walks in as the radio is playing. She is very tall and has her hair scraped back in a high, tight, ponytail. she has a strong, bold, striking face and looks extremely confident. However, the young girl now has her head in her hands and is clearly distressed. realising why the girl is distressed, the policewoman immediately switches the radio off and sits down with her laptop opposite the young girl.

Officer Smith: Okay.

The policewoman takes a large exhale and opens her laptop.

Where were you Friday 5th November?

Kirstie: At home.

Kirstie has a hint of fear in her voice and seems unsure.

Officer Smith: On your own?

Rasing her eyebrow, the policewoman is suspicious.

Kirstie: Yes. 

Officer Smith: Right, so when was the last time you saw your sister?

Kirstie: Yesterday morning before she left for work.

Officer Smith: Do you have any reason to suspect that this is a murder case?

Kirstie: [Muttering] Yes but I can't, it was the, The Dem...

Kirstie is now muttering so quitely that the policewoman is unable to hear.

Officer Smith: Pardon? Kirstie?

Flashing back to the day of the murder, we see Kirstie in a large house, just about to leave for a walk with her dog. She is dressed in normal clothes, jeans and a top with her hair hanging loosely. She then reaches for her dog's lead and slams her large wooden door. Whilst walking down the road, there are strange noises behind her but she takes no notice. It is dusk, so the visibility is limited. Suddenly, her phone rings. Grabbing it out of her pocket, Kirstie has a puzzled look on her face when she realises that the caller is unknown. Sensibly, Kirstie rolls her eyes and decides to ignore it. Continuing her walk down the dark streets, with only street lights to keep the street alight, her dog starts randomly pulling towards an unknown house to Kirstie. It is dark and there are no lights on so Kirstie pulls the dog away. Walking past a dark scary alleyway, again, the dog starts to pull and bark down the alleyway. With a puzzled look on her face, Kirstie pulls the dog to come away, but she refuses to move.

Kirstie: No Daisy, this way!

After a couple of minutes trying to pull the dog away with no success, Kirstie ties the dog on the lamppost and reluctantly starts to walk sown the alleyway to try and see what the dog has seen. After a couple of steps, Kirstie sees small droplets of what appears to be blood on the ground. Intrigued, but also clearly petrified, Kirstie follows the trail of blood. In the very distance, Kirstie sees that it has her name written across the front with what seems to be blood. Picking up the envelope to investigate, a gust of wind appears out of nowhere as if someone had just run past her. As she opens the letter, it says on a sheet of paper, "First your sister, now you." Kirstie drops the letter in shock and backs away. Voices start taunting her in her head, but Kirstie is too frightened to move. She can now feel someone over her shoulder, they whisper into her ear.

The Demon: Turn around Kirstie.

Sared for her life, Kirstie begins running as fast as her lungs will possibly take her, but she trips and falls. In the background, we can see The Demon standing firmly in his position;strong and powerful. He is now chanting her name.

The Demon: It's your turn now... Kirstie, Kirstie, Kirstie...

She finds herself back in the previous interview room, with someone shouting in her ear.

Officer Smith: Kirstie? Kirstie?

She leans into the microphone.

Back up in room 13 please.

Kirstie is now looking shell shocked.

Kirstie: He's coming for us.

Officer Smith: Who is?

Kirstie: [Whispers] The Demon.

We then flashback to the day of the murder. We see Kirstie slowly raising her head, in an extreme close up with blood and mud covering her face.

Black screen appears, and then the title comes up, 'The Demon' in red writing.

Pre-production: Credits and Title

For the credits, we have decided that the credits would overlap the scene and run while the scene is playing rather than doing the credits as the title comes up. This decision was made based on how many horror films have there credits running whilst the action is playing out.

The colour that the font would be is either red, white or black. This is because red is an intense colour and is commonly associated with blood and danger whilst black generally represents death. These words link to the genre of horror. The colour white was also considered because it portrays innocence and safety which is ironic because a horror film is the exact opposite.

We research different fonts that would be suitable for the opening that matches the genre of horror and decided that the font should have sharp or jagged edges. This is because it illustrates the coming events and likely injuries. The font should also look like it's written in blood and dripping down.

Font 1

Font 2

Font 3

Font 4

Font 5

Credit Titles

Lionsgate and IMCM Productions present

An original film directed and produced by Isabel Martin and Chelsea Man

Starring

Emma Edgell-Reeves    

Emily Mellows,

Dylan O'brien,

Emma Watson,

Isabel Martin

Based on the novel by Ransom Riggs

Casting by Isabel Martin

Production Design by Chelsea Man

Edited by Isabel Martin and Chelsea Man

Screenplay by Chelsea Man

From my research, I have found out that the majority of horror film credits are of neutral colours such as black or white. To find out the best colour combination for the title screen, I have taken the fonts and placed them each on a different background.

Red on Black

White on Black

White on Red

Black on Red

Black and white seem to be the most eye catching combination. This is because they are strong contrasting colours, making it stand out more. However, a red font would also be suitable to symbolise danger and blood. To find out what the best combination will be, I will post a questionnaire about fonts in horror films to determine the best choice.

Pre-production: Recces

To plan for the main brief, we took photos of potential locations of where we could film. We had to keep in mind the genre to make sure it is suitable.

These two photos were taken inside a house as that is where part of the opening is going to take place. It has dark corners and lighter areas, making it appropriate for filming. 

The outside of this house would be ideal because it looks like an old house, making it seem more sinister. Typically, old buildings in horror films are usually haunted.

For the main brief, we wanted an generally quiet street to film in so there are not much disturbances or noises. This links to the typical location for horror films because the main character is usually isolated from everyone else. However, when filming, we have to make sure that there are no cars around because it won't seems as scary and isolated. There also would be background noise which we do not want because it ruins the atmosphere.

The location is set in a dark empty place so we thought an alleyway would be ideal. This is because alleyways are generally quite empty and quite.

The alleyway matches the conventions of horror films because the lighting is low, giving the area a dark and mysterious atmosphere. However, when filming, the lighting must not be too low otherwise it would be difficult to see what is happening on screen.