Thursday, 22 April 2010

Low Key Lighting

In our film, we will be incoporating Low Key lighting. Low Key lighting is a key feature of the horror genre.


low-key lighting

In filming the low key lighting of a scene provides a large contrast between dark and light parts of the scene, producing an artistic or dark style through use of deep shadow. Conventionally, Low-key lighting is employed correctly in dramatic scenes to produce diversity and construct an atmosphere, most likely in mystery genres or thriller genres.


Futhermore low key lighting normally heightens the feel of alienation experienced by the viewer, consequently is usually emploed in film noir and horror genres.

Script

Script of Narrative

Rotating grid transition (FADE IN): - “BOB STUDIOS” – fade out. (2 seconds)

* John Murphy - In the House In a Heartbeat fades in slowly*

Fade in: - “Presents” - Fade out: (1 second)

Fade in: - faulty T.V transition: – “A media Production” - Fade out: (4 seconds)

Fade in: - Strips Transition: - “Starring” – Fade out (3 seconds)

Fade in:- Film strip transition: - “Hannah Dodsworth as ‘The girl’ - ( 3 seconds)

Fade in: - Cutting Transition: - “Written by Matthew Bridge and Hannah Dodsworth” (6 seconds)

Fade in: - Sun blinds transition – “Directed by Matthew Bridge and Hannah Dodsworth” (7 seconds)

Fade in: - Rotated lines transition – “Edited by Matthew Bridge and Hannah Dodsworth” (6 seconds)

*fade into blurred forest background*

Fade in: - faulty T.V transition: – “The Hunted” - Fade out: (13 seconds)
Into blackness – Music fades to nothing.

Fifth

Below a soaring and ghostly peak. It is early evening. On an icy winter day. The forest seems murky, beckoning and mystifying beneath the bitter December night. The sky is brimming with sinister clouds, which seem to reverberate deep emerald and scarlet in this distorted dream. The sound of electricity seems to flicker as we witness the thundering bolts inside the ghostly heavens. Inside the rapid movement, one can see an eerie forest, forshadowing what is about to happen.

We move into the forest now. The silhouettes of exposed trees whimper and moan as dominate the desolate winter landscape, the light is low and something strange is in the air. A girl is briefly shown, starting to run only we are taken away from her, we are watching through someone else’s eyes now, the gentle sway as hide being green vegetation as they hunt the victim. A rapid sequence of shots follow, which parallel the desperate flee of the young girl.

The girl is desperately trailing through mud to get away from this psychotic killer. As she runs, we see that she conventionally, pretty; lengthy chocolate hair, a cream cotton cardigan and a pair of dark sapphire jeans, completed by a pair of black, stylish boots. Her face, is terrified.
The girl runs through dense layers of leaves, branches and other debris as she flees desperately. As she runs, she flees she kicks up layers of oranges reds and brows as the leaves are flung across her path.

The chase is getting faster, the shots more and more rapid in velocity. The girl arrives at a circle of jagged rocks, she’s trapped. Her desperate attempt to climb to freedom fails and she falls, as we watch from a height.
Fade out to black
A blood curdling scream ruptures from the darkness, and the intense breathing continues.

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Film Scripts




Psycho (1960) movie script
by Joseph Stefano. Based on the novel by Robert Bloch.
Revised December 1, 1959.



FADE IN: - Fades/transitions are demonstrated by script

EXT. PHOENIX, ARIZONA - (DAY) - HELICOPTER SHOT - Establishing shot is named, time of day, setting.

Above Midtown section of the city. It is early afternoon, a - Details of mise en scene
hot mid-summer day. The city is sun-sunblanched white and
its drifted-up noises are muted in blanched their own echoes. Details of diegetic sound
We fly low, heading in a downtown direction, passing over
traffic-clogged streets, parking lots, white business
buildings, neatly patterned residential districts. As we
approach downtown section, the character of the city begins
to change. It is darker and shabby with age and industry. We
see railroad tracks, smokestacks, wholesale fruit-and-
vegetable markets, old municipal buildings, empty lots.
vegetable The very geography seems to give us a climate of
nefariousness, of back-doorness, dark and shadowy. And secret.
Here elements of mise en scene are discussed, especially the in depicting this eerie and dark setting which forshadows later events. Likewise there seems to be prcise detail into what should be depicted on screen.

We fly lower and faster now, as if seeking out a specific
location. A skinny, high old hotel comes into view. On its Further details of setting
exposed brick side great painted letters advertise "Transients- - Great detail on mise en scene
Low Weekly Rates-Radio in Every Room." We
pause long enough
to establish the shoddy character of this hotel. Its open, - Representations of particular characters
curtainless windows, its silent resigned look so
characteristic of such hole-and-corner hotels.
We move forward
with purposefulness and-toward a certain window. The sash is
raised as high as it can go, but the shade is pulled down to
three or four inches of the inside sill, as if the occupants
of the room within wanted privacy but needed air. We are
close now, so that only the lower half of the window frame
is in shot. No sounds come from within the room.

Suddenly, we tip downward, go to the narrow space between
shade and sill, peep into the room.
- Directions for the director to follow, a precise focus for the camera

A young woman is stretched out on the mussed bed. She wears - Mise en Scene costume details.
a full slip, stockings, no shoes.
She lies in and attitude
of physical relaxation, but her face, seen in the dimness of
the room, betrays a certain inner-tension, worrisome
conflicts. She is MARY CRANE, an tension, attractive girl
nearing the end of her twenties and her rope.
- Representations of gender, a detailed character analysis.

A man stands beside the bed, only the lower half of his figure
visible. We hold on this tableau for a long moment, then
start forward. As we pass under the window shade,

CUT TO: - Where to cut

INT. THE HOTEL ROOM - (DAY) - Setting, Lighting details

A small room, a slow fan buzzing on a shelf above the narrow
bed. A card of hotel rules is pasted on the mirror above the
bureau. An unopened suitcase and a woman's large, straw open-
top handbag are on the bureau.
- Very detailed mise-en-scene analysis, setting, props and directions for particular shots.

On the table beside the bed there are a container of Coco-
Cola and an unwrapped, untouched egg-salad sandwich. There
is no radio. - Continued prop details.


The man standing by the bed, wearing only trousers, T-shirt
and sox, is SAM LOOMIS, a good-looking, sensual shirt man
with warm humorous eyes and a compelling smile. He is blotting
his neck and face with a thin towel, and is staring down at
Mary, a small sweet smile playing about his mouth. Mary keeps
her face turned away from him.
- Framing, costume elements are described

After a moment, Sam drops the towel, sits on the bed, leans
over and takes Mary into his arms, kisses her long and warmly,
holds her with a firm possessiveness. The kiss is disturbed
and finally interrupted by the buzzing closeness of an
inconsiderate fly. Sam smiles, pulls away enough to allow
Mary to relax again against the pillow. He studies her, frowns
at her unresponsiveness, then speaks in a low, intimate,
playful voice.

SAM
Never did eat your lunch, did you.

Mary looks at his smile, has to respond, pulls him to her,
kisses him. Then, and without breaking the kiss, she swings
her legs over the side of the bed, toe-searches around, finds
her shoes, slips her feet into searches them. And finally
pulls away and sits up.

MARY
I better get back to the office.
These extended lunch hours give my
boss excess acid.

She rises, goes to the bureau, takes a pair of small earrings
out of her bag, begins putting them on, not bothering or
perhaps not wanting to look at herself in the mirror. Sam
watches her, concerned but unable to inhibit his cheery,
humorous good mood. Throughout remainder of this scene, they
occupy themselves with dressing, hair-combing, etc.

SAM
Call your boss and tell him you're
taking the rest of the afternoon
off. It's Friday anyway... and hot.

MARY
(soft sarcasm)
What do I do with my free afternoon,
walk you to the airport?

SAM
(meaningfully)
We could laze around here a while
longer.

MARY
Checking out time is three P.M. Hotels
of this sort aren't interested in
you when you come in, but when your
time's up...
(a small anguish)
Sam, I hate having to be with you in
a place like this.

SAM
I've heard of married couples who
deliberately spend occasional nights
in cheap hotels. They say it...

MARY
(interrupting)
When you're married you can do a lot
of things deliberately.

SAM
You sure talk like a girl who's been
married.

MARY
Sam!

SAM
I'm sorry, Mary.
(after a moment)
My old Dad used to say 'when you
can't change a situation, laugh at
it.' Nothing ridicules a thing like
laughing at it.

MARY
I've lost my girlish laughter.

SAM
(observing)
The only girlish thing you have lost.

MARY
(a meaningful quiet,
then, with difficulty:)
Sam. This is the last time.

SAM
For what?

MARY
This! Meeting you in secret so we
can be... secretive! You come down
here on business trips and we steal
lunch hours and... I wish you wouldn't
even come.

SAM
Okay. What do we do instead, write
each other lurid love letters?

MARY
(about to argue, then
turning away)
I haven't time to argue. I'm a working
girl.

SAM
And I'm a working man! We're a regular
working-class tragedy!
(he laughs)

MARY
It is tragic! Or it will be... if we
go on meeting in shabby hotels
whenever you can find a tax-deductible
excuse for flying down deductible
here...

SAM
(interrupting,
seriously)
You can't laugh at it, huh?

MARY
Can you?

SAM
Sure. It's like laughing through a
broken jaw, but...

From analysing this script, I have learn that it is crucial to describe ecery element of the scene; mise en scene, camera and lighting must all be clearly described.

The set up seems to mirror an actual Novel in various ways, the deep character and setting detail ect.

Thursday, 1 April 2010

The Location

For our location, we decided to choose a forest which would fit perfectly with the horror genre. T






Why did I choose this location?

I choose this location for various reasons:

1) Firstly, it was located in the Glossop area, which meant that we did not have to move equipment for far distances, and it was easy to go to the location and film at any time.

2) Forests are the perfect setting for horror films. Forests are utilized in films such "The Blair Witch Project" because they connote isolation and the wild. Furthermore, the forest provided lots of help in layering the shots. Debris such as stones, twigs, branches and leaves have been used to layer the shot, and they were all provided in the forest

3) The forest also allowed us to film on different levels. Trees, and ledges provided us with the ability to get to high locations and film the subject from different heights, which made the film more interesting.

What were the negatives of the location?

The negatives of the location was that it was dangerous. People had left glass and other objects in the forest which meant we had to be very careful during the production process not injure ourselves.

Moreover, the weather was extremely cold, and as the location was high up it mean that the location was even colder, thus we had to bring extra clothing and equipment to ensure our safety.

Sound Script

Sound Script



Before filming started, script like document.Shot timing is estimated.

(15 seconds)Titles on black screen - The song “In the House- In A Heartbeat” by John Murphy fades slowly in. The song is completley instrumental, as the song hits the titles the volume increases dramatically.

(5 seconds)Establishing shot - Electronic, grinding like non-diogetic music is played. (Volume increased)

(3 seconds)Cuts of plant close ups with snippets of running ghost. Fast editing - Same alien like music with the light sound of male breathing.

(3 seconds)Running girl (Shots of shadows mixed in, fast editing.) - Same continuous alien like music with breathing becoming louder and faster.

(4 seconds)Shot of girl running - Same alien music with loud male breathing. Faint female screams added in.

(6 seconds)Long shot of girl - Alien music mixed with a slightly higher pitched music. Screams and breathing continue.

(1.5 seconds)Close up of girl stepping over camera - Same music screams louder slightly, breathing quickens.

(4 seconds)Shots of surroundings - Breathing with added footsteps.

(5 seconds)Long shot of girl running up a hill - Screams, loud and high pitched obviously female. Breathing, music, footsteps have all stopped.

(3 seconds)Black screen - Silent

Filming dates

Filming Dates
Dates for filming/editing, when, where and what happened on these days.

21 February 3-6pm (Sun set at 6pm) - First day of filming on location. I used my own camera and tripod to film over a 100 shots, using different shot layering, camera angles and shots and contrasting lighting styles.. Loosing light was our main problem. From the weather forecast I knew that it would be sunny and I had to research when the sun was setting so we could get to the location an hour beforehand to commence preparation and to find a suitable location for filming. We got there in suitable time and had enough time to find a good filming location. We found a small wooded area which was surrounded by enormous rock edges, the sun shining through the trees produced a beautiful effect and producing silhouettes with the setting sun generated some incredibly interesting effects. The location shoot was extremely successful, there was lots of equipment to layer the shots and we received so much filming time, we did not need to film that much more. Moreover, when after filming I had to import the clips onto my computer, which seemed to be a fairly problem-free process.

22 February 9:30am-12:00pm – Today provided good lighting, however we had some continuity issues as this was shot during the morning, whereas the previous filming event occurred at sunset. We filmed on Shire Hill once again, this time capturing establishing shots along with some close ups of surroundings and plants. Moreover, due to the time we had a lot of visitors to the area who used the spaces for walking, to overcome this we just had to wait. To overcome the time issue, I found that when I began editing, reducing the brightness of the shot and adding particular colour tones made the shot seem as if it was shot during the evening. Consequently the continuity concerns were reduced.

1 March 1:30am-13:15pm - This was our first day of editing. We decided to use Matthew's laptop to edit our film as both he and I are more comfortable with the editing software. We started by placing our chosen shots in a suitable order. Moreover, I choose some effect to edit the shots with. I had to increase the contrast, reduce the brightness, add an “echo” effect to achieve my effects.

4 March 9:30pm-12pm – Today, we altered the shot times to make a much faster cutting rhythm. Furthermore we incorporated red tints to our shots, which seemed to work well with the horror genre.

8 March 1:30am-3:15pm – Today we had completed the shortening of the shots, so we had a sharp cutting rythm. Although I then decided to add non-diegetic sound to the film, I found several sound effects on “sounddogs.com” and proceeded to add echo’s to the breathing and increase the volume on certain shots.

11March 9:30am-1:15pm – Today we considered that we had completed the production process, we felt that the editing and filming process were at the best standard we could produce. However, we decided in order to know that our product was at it is best standard, we produced a trail viewing for our teachers in order to receive some feedback. In the feedback, we had realized that there was little constrast with the fast cutting rythm, and that some of the effects took away of from what were attemting to portay because the film was so stylized. For instance, we had doubled the speed on some of the running shots, and it didn’t seem appropriate as it looked particularly unnatural and unfitting for the film. Consequently we slowed down the clips to a natural speed. Likewise, we realized that somehow we had to integrate titles, although we felt that because the opening was so sharp and poignant, that adding titles would ruin this effect. Thus, we had to decided whether to place titles after the initial action or before.

15 March 1:30pm-3:15 – In the end, we felt only appropriate to integrate the titles before the action. Additionally we asked for more feedback on the product, a few major issues were raised. Due to the fast pace, our feedback consisted of producing a contrast to this fast pace, and to use some handheld shots from the killers viewpoint, in addition to some shots of the killer.

When we decided we did need a contrast to the action, we decided that we produce an additional scene linear to the scene already produced, our ideas consisted of a flash-forward demonstrating how the remains of a body we uncovered in the woods, with police and tape. Or, we decided that we would incorporate some shot in a graveyard, demonstrating someone mourning the killing.

18 March 9:30am-12pm – Today we concluded that the initial idea of discovering a body in the woods required too many mise en scene requirements, as an expensive costume, setting and props were needed which we could not provide.

As a result, we utilized the idea of a point of view shot of someone mourning the death of the child. However, this footage was unused due to issues with technology.

22 March 9:30am-12pm – Due to the errors and the fears over reducing the effect of the opening, we decided against integrating an alternative scene. I then added the opening titles and incorporated the song “Jon Murphy – In a heartbeat”.

25 March – Today I decided to alter the sound track. I wanted to make it very disorientating for the viewer, thus I incorporated some reverberation, layered 10 different sound effects and increased to volume on particular shots.

Mise-en-scene and Narrative details

Mise en scene requirements for the film

Props/Costume
We wanted to produce representation of teenage girl based on;





This is a still, from Scream, which constructs a representation of a teenage girl. (see evaluation for detailed analysis)

For our mise en scene, were need to following costume elements to produce the representation;


White Top
Jeans
Black Shoes
Brown Cardigan

Other props required;

Branches for layering shots.


Sound;

http://www.sounddogs.com/