Audience Research Findings/Results

These our our results from out Audience Research Survey. We have pie charts as we thought it was the easiest way to show our results but we also had to write up some of our results as they where text answers. I think that our results show that there are a variety of people who like horrors and who don't. It also suggests to us some ideas of what to include in a horror film which we could reflect on for our film.

Opie Task

This is the first thing we did on Photoshop to develop our skills so that we could use it in future coursework. We may use this skill to make opening credits for our 2 Minute film.

Character List

We made a character list to show what each character is going to look like and what they are wearing so we can replicate it if we need to film on a different day. This character list shows the costumes and makeup for all of the characters. The little girl's costume and make-up stay the same throughout the whole film but the toys change. These photographs show the costumes which the characters always wear but it also shows the makeup in the second half of the film when they change.

AS Brief

PRELIMINARY EXERCISE:
This task will involve filming and editing a character moving around college and using a variety of shots to express a strange atmosphere to the audience. There will be a few lines of dialogue between the characters and we will be using the college surroundings to our advantage. This task should demonstrate different skills using a variety of camera shots and angles, testing sound on Garage Band and being able to edit so it fits the time limit and so it flows fluently. 


MAIN TASK:
In this G321 task, we will involve filming and editing to create a mysterious and creepy setting so it fits in either the thriller or horror genre. We will use an opening title and it will last a maximum of two minutes. This should demonstrate more advanced skills which we have learnt from the preliminary task. 

ToyWood 2nd Rough Edit

In this 2nd Rough Edit, we have just changed the beginning and the colour change. We have made the start of the short film fade in so it flows in more. The other part we changed was when the atmosphere colour changed. We added a video filter so when the colours changed, they would naturally flow and change instead of jumping from dark and dreary to a creepy yellow tone.

Test Sound/ SFX for 'ToyWood'

We decided to test some sound for different parts of our 2 Minute film. The sound clip was created with Garage Band and we used a variety of sounds from bass to jingles to get a set feel for our film.
The first sound you hear is an idea for the opening title. We wanted it to sound mysterious and creepy so I think that we may have to add something else because at the moment, it sounds more mysterious than creepy.
The second sound you hear is an idea for when the little girl sees the toys. We added a suspense sound so it made the audience feel strange that these toys are stood in the middle of the wood.
The third sound you hear is a practise sound to see what different effects sound when we put them together. I like the hard bass in the background as it makes the track feel mysterious with the soft sound contrasting from the bass. It makes it sound like Sci-Fi so I think that if we use this technique, we will have to find sounds which fit in with our creepy film.
The last two sounds are similar and are going to be used in the same part of the film. In the middle of our film, or nearer the end, the toys start to shake and move around. I think that these sounds are perfect for that part as they sound electric and mechanical like they are moving. I had the idea that the last sound could be at the end when the toys drop down before rolling back up.

• Opening Title
• Seeing the toys
• Practising layering sounds
• Moving toys / shaking 

Recce Shots of Locations

These are the Recce shots of our locations. The location was a small wood walkway near my house where we plan to film the whole short film. It has good space for all the toys and a long path with trees either side for the little girl to skip down. The small wood was an ideal place to film and the atmosphere around was not too noisy to film either.

Test Footage for ToyWood

For our Test Footage, we decided to test the movement of the toys because we were not quite sure how we wanted them to move as we wanted to show a creepy atmosphere to the audience. We also decided to test how the little girl was going to observe the toys so we could work out which angle the camera needed so the audience could see what she was doing. We tested the skipping going away from the camera and coming towards the camera as we wanted to see which one worked better, if it would look good skipping away from the audience or towards the audience.
Finally we tested the tilt up to the sky so we knew where to have the camera and so when we tilted it up using the tripod, that it went as smooth as possible.

• Testing Toy Movement
• Testing Observation of the Toys
• Testing Skipping 
• Testing Tilt Up

Rough Edit of ToyWood

This is the first edit of our 2 Minute film 'ToyWood'. We haven't added any sound as we wanted to get the first edit of all the shots done as we wanted it to turn out. We changed the brightness and contrast of the shots and made the end a yellow tone to set a creepy atmosphere. We added our opening title so we could see how it fitted in and if it looked good.

ToyWood Opening Title

This is our opening title for ToyWood. We wanted it to be creepy so we created it in LiveType. We first made it a deep red colour and made it flash and jump. I think that the white effect around it is effective because it makes it look electric. The white effect was not intentional as before, it was blue and it ruined the creepy effect. We got rid of the blue and it changed to white but, I think that it works well so it was a happy accident.

Opening Title Planning

To decide what our opening titles would look like we decided to use the ‘LiveType’ application. We played around on the programme to discover all the different fonts and effects that we could apply to our text. It was difficult to start off with, as we hadn’t used this particular programme before so we had to test what all the buttons were for.

We found out that each effect that we added onto the text made the outline turn Blue. This was the only problem that we came across, as the Blue didn’t look very effective. To overcome this problem we encountered we found the effects section and changed the glow colour to the colour that we wanted. This made the text look more effective as there wasn’t a Blue flashing glow.

It took us a while to find the font that we wanted, as there were so many. Eventually we found the font that we thought was most appropriate for the genre of our film. Once we had chosen this font, we played around with the colour scheme and we thought the different shades of Red looked the best. We then found the button to change the glow of the flash that we chose as an effect. We then changed the colour to White.

Finally, we changed the orientation of the title so that it is tilted slightly to the left and made each letter separate from each other.

Risk Assessment for 'ToyWood'

This risk assessment was made so that if any of these risks actually happened on the day of filming, we had it written down so we knew what we'd have to do if we had to overcome this risk/problem. For example, if we had problems with the camera, we would have to re-schedule filming and check next time that the battery was fully charged and there was enough space on the memory card.

Script for 'ToyWood'

This is the script which we will follow whilst filming. We have no dialogue in our short film so we used the script to record what scenes we have and what was going to happen in each scene. I also put if we were filming inside or outside (INT. / EXT.) and if we were filming in the day or night. I think having a script is easier to keep track of what we are filming for each scene.

Storyboard for 'ToyWood'

This is our storyboard of the film. Paige drew some pictures so we could get an idea of how we were going to get our actors to stand and to get a rough idea of the setting, costumes and makeup. We also wrote what sort of shots we were going to use to help when we were going to film and what was going to actually happen. The storyboard is a starting point for our film so there is room for improvement if we decide to change some parts in the scenes.

PrO Production Company Logo

We wanted to make our production logo simple but creepy. The idea for PrO Productions came simply from mine and Paige's names. The 'P' stands for Paige and the 'O' stands for Olivia. We then tried to think of something around the letters 'P' and 'O' and we decided with 'PrO' putting our first letters of our name in capitals. The 'r' is from my middle name 'Rose' as Pro was the only name we could think of which was mature.
We made the background black and a circle as it is simple but also gloomy like a dark hole. We tried to find the most creepy font and put it in a deep red as we find red a scary and dangerous colour. Finally, the brown is supposed to be a dead tree with its branches leaning in over the company name. we thought that the dead brown tree added a dead and creepy feel and makes more of a thriller/horror look than just a plain black circle and our production name.

Props and Equipment List

Shooting Schedule for 'ToyWood'

This is the shooting schedule for our short film which has things like which cast members we will need for the scenes and which days we are filming on. It also has the times, dates, location, costumes and makeup which we will need. This will help us keep on schedule and so we get everything done in time.

ToyWood Animatic

We made an animatic to try and figure out how long each shot of the storyboard was going to be by putting the storyboard photographs into Final Cut. I think this will help when we start to film as we will have more of a clear idea of how long the film will be.

Audience Research Survey

We made a questionnaire on Google Docs to gather some research from our audience. We used a variety of question types to add variety to our questionnaire. We wanted it to look as professional as we could with a neat background and so it was easy for the viewer to read. We didn't want it too be brightly coloured either as it wouldn't go with the Horror theme for this task.

Treatment for 'ToyWood'

Our treatment was made so we knew what we would need when filming and so we could record what our film was about. 

This includes: A Cast List, Overview of the Story, Outline of Opening Sequence, Synopsis, Technical Information, Location, Costumes and Makeup.

I think that it helps us keep track on what we need to film and some camera angles we will need when filming. It also tells the viewer what our film is actually about so they get an idea of how it may turn out.

Mood Board for 'ToyWood'

The Mood Board was made to give us a visual view of the types of things which we will need to feature in our film. This includes photographs of the toys with a small idea of makeup and costumes and a few images of a wood and a little girl running. We also added some words to represent some of the images.

Opening Credits Analysis

Pitch Perfect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6A6lc-0KaA

At the start of the opening credits we see sound waves moving to the beat of the music, which is a mash up of 212 by Azealia Banks and Bust a Move by Young MC. Then, it shows a close-up shot of a laptop screen on audio software. This suggests to the viewer that the movie has some kind of musical element to the film. It carries on showing a character editing the audio then it zooms out to show a girl sat with her laptop. This introduces the character to the viewer (Beca). An establishing shot is used to show the campus to make it clear to the viewer where the film is set. We next see an over the shoulder shot (behind Beca) showing the viewer outside the taxi. This shows what Beca can see out of the window and the shot makes you feel like the viewer is in the taxi with her. You then see the campus where you have just travelled to, showing the audience that is it start of term as it is busy with cars, people and luggage. A zoomed up shot of the back of the taxi and Beca walking towards the boot is shown, and her stopping the taxi driver to help her. This suggests to me that she is protective of her stuff and wants to take care of it herself. It ends with seeing Beca taking a deep breath. This fully introduces you to the character and her features. I also think that the deep breath represents her feeling nervous.

Sweeney Todd:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKv6XlsJUjs

At the start of the clip it shows the usual production line but it has some kind of church organ music in the background. It sounds creepy and old which sets a spooky mood to the audience. It then moves onto the opening credits to the film and it shows a dark rainstorm with sound effects of lightning and thunder. This suggests that the setting of the film is going to be dark and gloomy.
You end up getting taken to a roof window of a building and a raindrop of blood drops down onto the glass window. This shows the viewer that the film will have elements of gore in it; the room (with a chair in), through the window, also sets the scene to the audience of the film.

The titles carry on following a bunch of mechanics and processes of making pies, which is computer animated with a trail of blood. This suggests to the audience that the film is going to involve blood and gore. The audience then sees the some kind of meat being minced, this suggest that the making of some type of meat is including in the film. It then leads to a bright fire blazing and showing some golden pies, this shows the audience that the pies are a main focus of the film. In the end, you just see the water in the sewers all red from the blood off the pies. I think that this shows the audience that is no ordinary pie and makes you intrigued to see what happens next, and what is actually in the pies.

Sky Fall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IimY1KP5dR4

The opening credits for this film starts with the audience seeing James Bond sinking underwater and being grabbed by a mysterious person/ hand while Adele’s song ‘Sky fall’ is playing. This suggests to the audience that he is trying to be saved by this ‘mysterious’ person/ hand. James Bond then gets sucked into a sinking hole in the sand and, floats out into a different part of the sea with lots of cardboard targets of him. These cardboard targets have a shot of blood coming out of the left shoulder. This shows the audience where James Bond was shot. (Before the opening credits, there is a short piece of footage of James bond following a man in which he gets shot and falls into the water below him). We then go through the shot hole in the target to then see an unknown girl floating up the screen and we see a gun fall to the sea floor. The audience then sees an underwater graveyard with guns and knives falling from the sky, landing in the sand to represent graves of people. You then go under a grave into some red water. This suggests that we have gone under James Bonds grave and the red water represents the blood coming from his shot wound. We then float towards an eye, which is James Bond’s, and we zoom straight through his pupil. This suggests that the next part we see is going to be what Bond sees’ himself in his perspective.
James is stood on the sea floor with 4 shadows around him and he is shooting at them, showing the audience that he can handle four gunmen at a time. One then turns round at points the gun at Bond, which then leads you through a shot mark on a target where you see blood clouds moving through the water. This suggests the amount of blood James Bond has lost when he got shot. It ends with seeing a woman with a gun pointing at the audience. This shows you what James Bond saw last as he accidently got shot by is partner at work, who was a woman.

2 Minute Film Presentation

We made this presentation so show our first initial idea for our 2 Minute Film. It includes an idea of what music or sounds we are going to use and then the first idea of what will happen in our film.
We also compared the markets of both horror and thriller to see which one was more popular and how many ticket sales they each got. This would help us decide which genre our film would fit in and how popular it may be being in that genre.

Mind Map for 'ToyWood'

The mind map shows some initial ideas for our 2 Minute film. We used Microsoft Word to create the mind map and used reds to look more on the horror/thriller side and more professional. We didn't use arrows from the centre to each box as we wanted it to be neat and we made the boxes bold so they stand out and show each individual box.

Nine-frame Analysis (LA Confidential)

LA Confidential

1)    Wide shot which is establishing the setting which gives us a lot of information about the scene. It is also panning while following the character. This introduces you to the first character as we are following them into a building.

2)    Over the shoulder shot, which introduce more characters and makes you feel like you are in the room. This shot emphasizes a small room and shows you a man held captive. This suggests to the audience that it is a dangerous situation.

3)    Wide shot which introduces you to the man you were originally stood behind. This gives the audience the identity of this man and a face to a voice. This shot is used to show all of the characters in the room so the audience can see that the man on the chair is vulnerable compared to the other men.

4)    Close Up to show the characters facial expressions and to focus on what he is about to say. This gives the audience a chance to see what emotions this vulnerable character has when being questioned by another character.

5)    Medium Close Up to show the other characters reaction to what the vulnerable character said. This shows the facial expression of the character and their action to their answer.

6)    Over the shoulder shot which shows you the action of the man (punching him across the face). This suggests to the audience that they are in a room of violence as a character is punching his victim, as they didn’t like his answer. This shows that the characters are in no position to cooperate with one another.

7)    Low angle shot, which shows the action of the punch. This shows the expression of the character punching and the victim’s reaction of the violent punch. This could make the audience sympathize the vulnerable character because he is being violated.  

8)    Close Up shows the facial expression from a character after the violent punch. This shows the audience the expression of pain on the characters face.

9)    Low angle shot shows the character’s reaction to the punch and it also shows the intimidating look of violence on the other mans face. This could suggest to the audience that this character could be violated even more.

10) Low angle close up shows the mans feet moving from the extreme force from the violent punch. This shows that the punch was not light as it was a forceful punch. This suggests that the punch was to purposely inflict pain to the vulnerable character.