Start of Editing

I have my first reel of footage for my short film and I have already started to piece together one of the scenes in the film. I have filled some aspects of the film in with similar things to whats going to be used in the film to make it look more realistic in this rough edit, this will make more sense through the use of examples. I am using Final Cut Pro to edit my film.

Here is some of the footage I got for the scene. It can be seen that I tried many takes of different camera angles and lighting to give me more choice to make my film with. Some footage and angles which I used may never be used.

Here is the current edit of the film I have so far. I have added the music and news report in the background to give any viewers of the rough copy more of an idea to what is meant to be going on in this scene, however these sound files will probably not be used in the final cut as I would've created my own diagetic and non-diagetic sound which are more suitable to my film

Photography From 1st Shoot

I took a few pictures of my sets on the first day of filming. This images can be used to contrast with the final edit and can also pitch my ideas more clearly to the cast and crew on set.

This first picture is of the main characters bedroom. The shot in the film will be slow and dark which creates tension.

This picture shows an ominous hallway which is dark at the end. Again, this shot will be slowly zooming in to build tension.

This last image is the set where the main character is relaxing and watching TV in the evening. It is currently well lit to make sure it is a detailed shot however i may change it to give a darker room which adds that fear factor.

Breakdown Sheet

Shooting Schedule

Cinematography and Location Information

Equipment Checklist

Planning To Film

I plan on shooting my short film soon so I have planned a lot for my filming. My planning documents include:

• Equipment Checklist
• Cinematography and Location Information Form
• Shooting Schedule
• Breakdown Sheet

These documents are important to help me get the correct shots I want and to serve as a reminder/prompt on-set to me and my filming crew on what is meant to be happening and how a certain scene is meant to look.

Casting

There is only one visible character in my short film, and he is assailed by a hidden intruder. Therefore the character needs to look relatively vulnerable to emphasise the danger he is in.

I've decided to cast my friend Sulaiman Khan because he is not overly strong looking and is of an average height, therefore the audience will think he has less of a chance of survival from this attack. Filming will also take place in Sulaiman's house primarily which makes filming more convenient for me because I'm guaranteed to have the actor available with the location.

Script

Assailant Script

Location Scouting

 A lot of my short movie involves some long lasting shots down hallways in the point of view of the main character or facing him with the torch. I took some pictures of a building in my school which had the right kind of corridor I am looking for. It is long and narrow and looks a bit like something from The Shining. The long emptiness of the corridor is foreboding and can build tension

Equipment

Hardware:

• Camera
• Tripod
• Dolly
• Knife
• Fake Blood
• Normal Clothes
• Torch
• Moonlight
• TV

Software:

• Final Cut Pro
• ISO
• Voice recording, phone line effect

Locations

My short film by and large takes place inside the main characters house. Seeing as a lot of my shots will be long drawn out shots looking down dark hallways, I will need to have a building with long corridors and open hallways so I can get a good range of camera angles which will help get the type of atmosphere I want. Therefore I will film these pets at my friends house in Oxfordshire which has large open spaces and long hallways which look foreboding in the dark.

Kiddington Hall is a very large mansion house so I will have a great choice of camera angles and room to shoot in

The scenes at the beginning of the short film involve the main character in his kitchen on the phone, the point of this scene that the intruder can be seen peering in through the windows at the back of the shot, and there may not be an appropriate place to get that kind of shot in Kiddington Hall. However my own house in London has the right type of kitchen to film that sort of shot so it would be a good idea to film there.

Furthermore, my house in London is a lot smaller and normal than Kiddington Hall which makes the setting more believable. It also fits into the atmosphere of for boding that I'm trying to create because the house will look unattractive on an overcast day.

<Ground pictures to follow>

Short Film Storyboard

In order create more physical form of my short film idea I have storyboarded my film. Storyboards are generally a useful document to have on set to refer to when planning scenes.

This can serve as a visual reminder to me on all the scenes I want to be shot, with the correct angles and sets, without me having to improvise on the film set, which can lead to a disjointed film.

Storyboarding can also serve as a visual idea of what is needed from them, and helps the camera man know what to do in terms of camera angles and movements through the instructions below the pictures and the arrows on the drawings themselves.

This can also allow me to delegate tasks to other people because I now know they will carryout what I want them to do for my film without me having to micromanage everything. Furthermore it means I can leave the task to people more skilled at the task in hand, for example, the camera knows what I want from the scene but will carry out better than what I would have necessarily produced.

Synopsis of Short film

The film will start with an establishing, low angle shot looking up at a house in a dark, overcast day, thunder in the background. An interior shot will show that the man is alone in his kitchen, a silhouette can be seen in the background outside, a point of view shot looking into the kitchen will represent some sort of trespasser. Cut back to the man in his house, he feels someone watching him outside but can't see anything and thinks his mind is playing tricks on him.

The man is sleeping in his bed at night, in his house. He is woken up by a noise in the house so he gets up to go and check what the noise is. Tension is built while he slowly goes to check around the house with a torch to find out what the noise was. He is attracted to more noise behind a door at the end of a corridor and slowly goes to investigate, creating more tension. He suddenly opens to door to find that it's his dog "Snugsy" who was just messing around. He is giving his dog a loving hug, thinking all is safe, when a loud crash is heard upstairs. There is another long build up to the man cautiously returning to his room, there is no lighting in the house apart from the torchlight which furthers the horror aspect because there is limited vision. He slowly enters his bed room and walks into the middle of the room. He is looking around when the intruder in the house ominously steps in from of the camera when the film cuts out.

The pictures from the video game Alan Wake are good representations of the type of shots I will use; the torch will be the only form of light in the shots which will leave the rest of the shot in darkness. The picture of The Strangers is also relevant because it shows how the main character is being watched from behind at the beginning.

Mood Board

A mood board is an illustration of my inspirations for a short film supported by camera shots and already existing medias which are similar to what I want.

I have chosen pictures from The Strangers because that is one of my inspirations because of the idea that someone is always in the house with the main character and their presence can be subtly felt. I have used pictures of Alan Wake because I like the idea of an eerie torchlight searching the house for possible danger to create tension. I have include pictures of eerie houses to give the sense of isolation for the character and a silhouette standing outside the house. Lastly, I have the picture of the ISO Scale because I will need ISO scale alteration to make sure my shots more visible because they will be shot in darkness.

Analysis of Castello Cavalcanti

There is a wide establishing shot which sets the scene of a rural and classical Italian town so the audience has some orientation through the film. The camera then pans round so the audience can get a further look into where the film is set and introduce some of the characters such as the elderly people chatting outside the cafe. The music goes well with these camera shots because it has the feel of a quirky working class Europe, this goes well with the town because it is rural and probably full of elderly people and farmers with one restaurant in the town which is the cafe. The music also see to be emitting from the radio which gives the sense of boredom and slowness in the town.

The editing is slow because life is slow and boring (But comfortable) in this town and the upcoming race through there town is a massive event in their year. Lastly the costumes and props such as neon lights bracers give the impression that it is set in the mid 20th century. The film has been going for only 30 seconds and the audience is already aware of where it is set and when.

The sound of engines in the distance builds excitement to what is about to happen, it catches the attention of all the cafe's patrons which creates a contrast with what is expected in this quiet town. This is reinstated by the fact that there is one continuous shot to show the cars racing past.

The driver running into the cafe after crashing and dousing the flames is still one continuous shot which contrasts the fast racing life with the quiet village life. This contrast is also shown by the fact that the race car driver talks fast compared to the villagers. The driver is also placed in the middle of the shot of him at the table with the villagers around to show that he is completely the centre of their attention and is probably the most important person they've had in their village in a long time.

The editing remains slow throughout the film and the music is always played out of the radio inside the cafe, this is always to give the film the feel of a quiet Italian village. The mise-en-sene remains quirky in that the colours are quite vibrant despite the fact that it's a conventional dull village/town and the camerawork usually has the driver in the middle of the shot to signify his importance

The film ends with a wide shot zooming out of the cafe with the driver eating pasta. The slow movement of zooming out shows that the driver is settled and will be staying in the village which gives a peaceful and pleasant ending to the film.

Analysis of Lights Out

There is no music at any point in this film which creates a very eerie and tense atmosphere, it also works as a build up to the anticipated shock which leaves the audience tensing up for the moment. It also adds more emphasis on the sound effects such as the clicking of the light switch which again adds to the tension because the silence shows how the woman is all alone in her home which leaves her and the audience vunurable.

The silence between the flicking of the light switch gives us time to dwell on the silhouette seen in the hallway once the lights are off. The sound of the tape being torn of the light switch is also significant because it confirms the suspicion that there is something else present with the woman and amplifies it.

The majority of camera shots are close ups of the woman's face and POV shots of what the woman is looking at. The close ups of her face are to show here various facial expressions throughout the film, she is calm at the start however as she becomes more aware of something in her house she visually becomes more and more distressed which also shows the severity of the situation. The POV shots are mainly of her looking through the sheets when the demon is in her room, however we can't see anything to create more tension and more fear of the unknown thing in the house.

Lighting is extremely important in the film because it keeps the figure in the hall clouded in mystery. Darkness frightens people because you cannot see what is going on in close proximity to you and gives fear of the unknown. Even the bright lights are not particularly welcoming and literally give light to the emptiness of the house which furthers the feeling of loneliness and vulnerability felt by the woman and the audience.

There is no dialogue in the film because a conversation is too comforting for the audience and again this emphasises the tense silence in the house which creates further tension.

The point of climax is when the woman turns and sees the thing which is invading her house. The thing is some sort of possessed monster or has a major deformity which makes her hideous to behold and hence it only flashes for a split second to shock the audience. Throughout the film the audience has been built up towards this moment and so the spilt second we see of it adds to the horror aspect and mystery. The sound is also explosive at this point which adds to the shock of the moment.

Typical Horror conventions used are dark lighting, to make it more scary and unclear what is hiding in the shadows. There is also a scary mask or face which has been edited in post-production which is also typical of the action adventure genre

Director Case Study: Ridley Scott

Early Life

Scott was born on 30 November 1937 and raised in South Shields. His father and older brother were in the Royal engineers and his younger brother, Tony, was also a Hollywood director. He studied at the Royal College of art. He then got into television and nearly directed the second series of Doctor Who but was replaced.

Early Work

In 1977 he produced his first movie The Duelists which had a budget of $900,000. It was relatively successful and won the award for best film at the Cannes Film Festival. However his next film Alien announced him on the Hollywood stage and was massively successful with a budget of $11 Million and Box Office revenue of up to $200,000,000. The film was most praised for its "Chestburster" scene which shocked the actors as well as the audience which is seen as one of the most memorable scenes in Film. The film is still seen as one of the best sci-fi horror films of all time and was revolutionary for the genre at the time.

Big Stage Movies

He then directed the film Blade Runner another sci-fi film featuring Harrison Ford in a futuristic world. However due to the release of other sci-fi films at the time such as Star Trek and ET the film was relatively disappointing in box office revenue and seen as a failure. Bizarrely however, the film is now seen as a sic-fi classic and widely respected. In 1985 Scott then released the fantasy film Legend about knights, princesses and magic, filmed entirely in a studio and featured Tom Cruise as the protagonist. The film was a commercial failure again and again the film has now become a cult classic. However at the time, this, along with drama's Someone to Watch over me and Black Rain, caused Scott to lose a lot of his reputation and many critics said that Alien was merely a "Lucky Break" by a mediocre director. In 1991 he made Thelma and Louise which was one of Scott's biggest successes and a revival of his reputation, it also got him his first nomination for The Best Director academy award.

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2000's

This was a successful period for Ridley Scott where he directed films such as Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, Matchstick Men, American Gangster and Body of Lies. However his big film of that decade was Gladiator which won 5 academy awards including a nomination for best director, It grossed over $400 million worldwide and is seen as a modern classic. The film also helped introduce Russell Crowe onto the Hollywood stage and he won an academy award for his performance. Lastly in 2010 he directed Robin Hood which made a $300 million return.

Style and Methods

Scott tends not to dwell on his takes and films his movie's swiftly. He also tends to make films very slow until the action which he has been building up to all film. His movies tend to show a conflict between father and son and a lot of them also involve the son witnessing the fathers death like Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood and Blade Runner. He also has consistency with the composers he uses, his most used being Hans Zimmer. Scott's style is related to my short film because I have a slow build up to the action.

Director Case Study: Peter Jackson

Early Life

Peter Jackson is a New Zealand director who is most famous for directing the revolutionary Lord of the Rings saga in 2001. He has won many awards for his work such as 3 Academy Awards for best director, best picture and best-adapted screenplay. Jackson was born on 31 October 1961 in Wellington and was raised at the nearby coastal town of Pukerua Bay. His parents - Joan, a factory worker and housewife, and William Jackson, a wages clerk - were both immigrants from England. He is married to screenwriter and composer Fran Walsh and has 2 children.

Early Work

Jackson started his directing career by shooting Black Comedy films throughout the 80s such as Bad Taste and Meet the Feebles which were more cult films operating on low budgets (With Bad Taste having a budget of $26,000), they were filmed in many locations around New Zealand and received funding from Japanese and European investors. In 1992 Jackson released Braindead which is seen as a landmark in splatter movies, due to its unconventional nature of keeping zombies in, instead of out.

Increasing popularity

Jackson broke through onto the Hollywood scene in 1994 with his original screenplay Heavenly Creatures which was based on a real life murder case in Christchurch in 1950. The film was well reviewed due to how well it handled the delicate subject matter, it was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Jackson had established himself as a big budget director. He then signed a contract with the American distributer Mirimax. This allowed him to Direct his first big budget film in 1996, The Frighteners. This growth in popularity allowed Jackson to improve his special effects and props department WETA to expand and gain new uses such as WETA Digital. The Frighteners however was considered a commercial failure and this along with a fall out with the New Zealand Film Commission caused a rough patch in Jacksons career.

   

The Lord of the Rings

Jackson then went on to make the best films the world has ever seen, the masterpiece that is The Lord of the Rings Saga. Production started in 1999 and the films were released in 2001, 2002 and 2003 winning 11 Oscars and grossing nearly $3 Billion. Jackson was praised for his loyalty to the books, brilliant imagery creating Middle Earth, brilliant music by Howard Shore and fantastic acting from the cast. Lord of the Rings is now seen as a landmark in movie making and revolutionized cinema going for the future, a stroke of true genius.

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Inter years between Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

Universal Studios signed Peter Jackson for a second time to remake the 1933 classic King Kong—the film that inspired him to become a film director as a child. It was another cinema hit and grossed $550 million worldwide. Jackson completed an adaptation of Alice Sebold's bestseller, The Lovely Bones we he said was a nice relief from his usual grand epics, the film did well worldwide and Stanely Tucci's performance in it was nominated for an Academy Award.

Current Projects

In December 2011 Peter Jackson collaborated with directors Stephen Spielberg and Edgar Wright to create The Adventures of Tintin which is now turning into a major franchise and a sequel is set to come out in the next few years. The first film was a major success and made of $250 Million profit. He is also working on The Hobbit which is a trilogy epic returning to Middle Earth once again. The first two films have already made approximately $2 Billion and the finale is released in December 2014.

Style and Methods

Jackson is known to be an obsessive perfectionist when shooting his movies, sometimes spending whole days to shoot a single conversation. He does many different takes from a massive variety of angles to get the best options when editing. He also insists on filming most of his movies in his native New Zealand. One of his most common visual trademarks is shooting close-ups of actors with wide-angle lenses. Jackson also cameo's in nearly all his films and has even made cameos in other films such as Hot Fuzz.

Why does Peter Jackson Inspire Me?

Jackson inspires me because of his perfectionist attitude and makes sure that every aspect of his scenes are correct to the most minute detail, this can be seen in The Lord of the Rings where tiny details which he concentrated on made it such a massive success. He doesn't lack ambition and puts his heart into his work instead of being a Hollywood sell out who's only interested in making money.

Initial Ideas for Brief

After deciding to shoot a movie trailer I wrote up potential ideas for what type of trailer I would actually shoot in the mind map form.

Coursework Brief

A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

1. A poster for the film;
2. A radio trailer for the film;
3. A film magazine review page featuring the film.

I have chosen to do Ancillary tasks 1 and 3.