Planning : Filming Schedule

This is the filming schedule for our teen horror movie. The purpose of a filming schedule is to make sure that when it comes to filming we are able to go through this and get certain shots done in a certain order because of their importance within the film. The filming schedule is important because it ensures that the whole group knows what is happening and when it will happen.

Saturday 16th Of January:

At 12pm on the 16th on January, our group will meet in location 1 (the forest) to start filming. At 12 we will do the establishing shot which will set our scene (shot 1).

Quarter 1
From 12:05 till 12:20, we will film all of the running scenes in our first quarter (shot 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14) giving u around two minutes for each shot. These will be no longer than 5 seconds long so most of our time will be used getting the actors in place and making sure we have the right angle for the shot.

From 12:21 till 12:30 we will do the point of view shots in the first quarter (9 and 15). These will take longer to film than the first 9 as the angles will have to be placed more strategically and make sure that the focus of the camera is on the right part on the scene and the correct characters.

From 12:31 till 12:50, we will film there shots of the girl using her phone (shots 4, 5 and 6). These will need a lot of direction as this involves the correct expressions from the actor and the props will need to be used appropriately so that the scene flows properly.

Quarter 2
At 1pm, we will move onto the running shots in quarter 2 (shots 20, 21, 22 and 24). These shouldn't take too longs we will have already done some running shots and will know how to maximise the use of the camera and the actors will know what they are doing straight away. This should take 15 minutes.

At 1:15 we will start filming the first axe scene. This will take some time as we will have to use shot, reverse shot to make sure that this scene flows properly and have all the right angles in the scene. We will need to film his scene at least twice so that it when it is edited it will look realistic. We will also have to place props in the correct place as in this scene the axe has to be place in the tree properly. This will take 30 minutes.

Quarter 3
From 1:45 till 2:30, we will be filming the scene where the girl gets killed by the lumberjack (shot 23, 25, 26 ,27, 28, 29, 31, 32 and 33) this will take time as we will have to film this scene 2-3 times as we will be using shot, reverse shot to make sure the audience feels like they are the actual characters and in the scene itself.

Quarter 4
At 2:45, we will start with the running, long shot (shot 34) and then move onto the point of view shot (shot 35). These shouldn't take too long as they are easy to do and we will have previously done similar ones to this. This will take 10 minutes.

At 3pm we will do the scene where the Lumberjack chases the boy into the abandoned house (shot 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44). This will take around 1 hour as we will be moving locations and will be using shot, reverse shot to make the audience feel involved in the scene.

Planning: Shot List

The reason for shot listing is because you need to have an idea of what is going to happen within your film and the order in which it happens. Shot listing allows you as a group to make choices about what is going to be done and how it is going to be filmed, so it is effective for the target audience.

Planning - Mise-en-Scene

Character One:

Ben -

This character is the male character in our film who is a  student who is coming home from school, this will be portrayed in the costume they are wearing. The character will be wearing their school uniform, the uniform will consist of a white shirt, a tie, smart shoes and black school trousers. The character will also be carrying their school bag as they are coming home from school. This bag will be a fairly dark backpack, this is because our character is a teenage male who enjoys hiking and outdoor activities. This style of bag suits this because it is good for practical use and is quite resistant which is good for someone doing a large amount of practical activities. The character will be walking back from school and this bag is also suitable for a school bag.

Character Two:

Erika -

This character is the female character in our film who is a  student who is coming home from school, this will be portrayed in the costume they are wearing. The character will be wearing their school uniform, the uniform will consist of a white shirt, a tie, smart shoes, a pair of tights and a skirt. The female character will also need a school bag as they are coming home from school. This bag will be a typical teenage girls bag, this is because our female character is portrayed as the weaker between the two and giving her a more feminine bag shows this. The character will be coming back from school and this bag could be used as a school bag too. This type of bag is also common among teenage girls in school which helps portray the character. She will also have a phone and headphones, she will have an iPhone 6 and apple headphones as these are typical of a teenage girl.

         

Character Three:

The Lumberjack - 

The Lumberjack is the main villain in our opinion, he lives in an abandoned house in the woods so his clothes will be quite muddy/dusty. The Lumberjack will be wearing an old dirty checked shirt, dirty red braces an old pair of black jeans and black army boots. We chose this costume because it is the generic clothing for a lumberjack and after it has been made to look old and dirty it will have the connotations that he lives in the wild. The Lumberjack will carry an axe which will be the main way he kills his victims. After killing the first of the characters we will put fake blood on the end of the axe to create the illusion that it is the blood of one of the characters. 

Planning : Casting

Why is Casting important?

I believe casting is one of the most important tasks in Pre-Production and requires a high amount of care when taking on this challenge. Casting involves auditioning potential actors to find the most suitable person for your film. It is important that you find someone who is not shy in front of a camera, someone who will not burst out with laughter when filming, and someone who can create verisimilitude within the production.

To find suitable actors for our production, our group will run short auditions for the potential actors. We will give the actors short scripts to perform, and use these performances to decide whether they will be suitable.

The Female Character:

Below are the two females that auditioned for the role of Erica in our two minute opening. Our female character is a girl that enjoys using social media and texting her friends. She is a bubbly person who is still at school doing her GCSE's. She walks home with Ben (our male character) after school everyday as they live close to each other. 

India is a 16 year old female and is still at school studying for her A-Levels which are Art, Business and English Literature. She has a strong personality and is not camera shy. She has two pet dogs who are named Candy and Eric. India dislikes people who moan and don't grab every experience that comes her way. However, she does not like walking and has a part time job which she does after school and some weekends. 

Toyah Jones is 18 years old and is doing her second year of A-Levels. She is studying English, Business and History. Toyah likes watching horror films with friends and going to parties. She loves to be in front of the lens and is a very confident person with a bubbly attitude. She also took Drama as a GCSE.

Black widow productions chose Toyah over India because Toyah fits the description of the part more because of her height and the age she looks. She lives near the location and wouldn't need travel and has clothes that will suit the role. She also is more confident than India and will be able to easily act out the role of Erica. India also has a part time job which she does most weekend unlike Toyah who does not. This means that Toyah would be available for filming more easily. 

The Male Character:

Ben is a 16 year old male who loves to play xbox at home. He is currently studying for his GCSE's and is a very sociable person however, can be quite shy when around people she doesn't know. 

Ashley is a 16 year old male whois studying for his first year of A Levels. Ashley is very bubbly and is always up for a laugh. Ashley loves hiking and camping out in the wild. He has completed 1 out of 3 of the three peaks challenges. He took drama as a GCSE and is very confident in front of a camera.

Dan Smith is a 17 year old male who like to attend the gym with his friends. Dan likes keeping up with the fashion and socialisng with friends and family.  Dan is also a clean freak and doesn't like things being messy or disorgaised.

Black Widow Productions chose Ashley to play the part of Ben because he will need to get dirty and Dan said he wouldn't do that. Ashley also looks close to the age of Ben. Ashley does live further from the location but one of our group lives near by and said they will give him a lift. He is also more confident that Dan and will be able to use skills from his GCSE drama to play the part of Ben. 

The Lumberjack

The lumberjack will be a scary and mysterious figure that will stalk Ben and Erica. He has a troubled past and has become an outcast from society and now lives in a old abandoned house. 

Kye is 17 years old and enjoys playing games on his computer and Xbox. He looks after his little sister on Saturdays and spends a lot of time revising for his exams. Kye enjoys watching football and supports Man United. He try to go and watch as many games as he can. 

Aaron  likes going to local music venues as he enjoys heavy metal. Aaron is in a band and likes to record new songs that he creates. He attends venues on a weekly basis and likes to go with his friends. Arron also takes part in amateur dramatics from July to November every year, performing at a local theatre. 

Black Window Productions chose Aaron because his hair would suit the part and he said he wouldn't mind having make up on where as Kye was more hesitant. Aaron lives less then five minutes away from our filming location which makes him an ideal actor for our role. His acting experience will also mean he will be able to play the role of the Lumberjack easily and has spare time during the weekends for filming. 

Planning: Location Planning

The picture below shows the main two locations that we will be using. Highlighted in red is Brambleside woods. We are using this location because filming in the middle of the woods allows us to make it seem as if the two characters are in a secluded location, we will do this by making sure that we are not near the road nearby so that the audience can not hear cars, if they could hear the cars it would ruin the illusion that they are in the 'middle of nowhere'. We chose to use the woods because the woodlands is where you would expect a lumberjack to be, also the woods has connotations of being eerie and dangerous during later hours.

Highlighted in pink is an abandoned house. This will be the home of The Lumberjack. Below is a more detailed picture of what the house looks like. We think that this building is suitable because it is an old destroyed building which when looked at is instantly perceived as quite creepy. Another reason this building is suitable is because the inside is quite dark and some of the walls have burn marks on which makes the building look even more creepy.

Planning: Producing A Story Board For Our Opening

 
This is our storyboard for our opening 2 minutes to our teen horror movie 'The Lumberjack'.
The process of creating a storyboard was rather simple, as a group we discussed how the  Main Task is going to take place. For each storyboard we had to state the following: 

• Location 
• Camera Shot
• Camera Movement 
• Camera Angle 
• Cast Required 
• Dialogue

From doing this I have learnt that your plan is the most important part because if you don't have this plan then the production of the film will not flow, then when it comes to editing the film you will not be able to combined all of the shot and make it seem realistic to the audiences eye. 
The purpose of doing this story board is so that we can see how our opening 2 minutes will look like and have a plan for the shots that we will use in our film opening. It will also help us plan out when we are having some of the opening titles on the two minutes. All of this will make it easier for us when we come to filming and editing our teen horror movie opening. 

Evaluation on my progress so far

Research into horror movies

I feel that i have proficient evidence of research into horror movies. This is because i have examples of different horror movies and the ways that different codes and conventions generically used in horror movies. This shows that i have looked at different horror movies and the sorts of things that are found in them. It also gave us examples of the sorts of things that could happen in the opening two minutes of a horror movie.  

Research into a potential target audience

I feel i have some of researching into my potential target audience. This is because i have looked at the audience theory which includes the hypodermic needle theory, cultivation theory, two step flow, uses and gratifications. I have also done work on my chosen artist and the type of audience that would be targeted for her. I will look into the different outfits that people wear of that age and of my chosen artist so that i can get the costume planning correct for our music video. 

Time management

I think that i have shown good time management as i have caught up on all work that had been done before i joined the course, whether that be watching the videos, reading articles or making and creating posts. I have also kept up to dat with all work that has needed to be done and have completed extra in some parts of the research - for example, the research into music videos. 

Use of digital technology or ICT 

I feel that i have shown good skills of using different digital technology. This is because i have used photos, videos and different presentation software to present different things. For example, using premier pro for my animatic and Prezzie for my pitch. I could use different types of presentation sites to present my work in future to show that i am able to use different types of digital technology.  

Communication skills

I would say that i have good communication skills. I have done lots of writing in my posts and most are grammatically correct, however, i can sometimes use the wrong spelling. 

Level of care taken in the presentation of work

I feel that the level of care in the presentation of my work is excellent. I feel this because i have use different ways of presenting my work. For example, using Prezzie, pictures, videos and keeping all my text the a suitable font. 

Planning - Writing A Treatment For Your Chosen Opening

This is our treatment for our opening to the horror movie. 

• We are going to start off with an establishing shot of the forest.
• We are then going to have a tilt shot from the feet going up, the shot is of two school children walking home on a Friday afternoon. 
• There is then a tracking shot of them walking through the forest. Both of the students are listening to music through there headphones so there will be diagetic sound of the music they are listening to, however, both of their phones die, this will be use of a horror film convention. 
• There will then be diagetic sound of wood being chopped but the sound will increase as the students come closer to The Lumberjack. 
• The students then stop and look around to see where the sound is coming from. This will be a point of view shot and which pans around their location you will be able to see The Lumberjack in the distance. 
• The Lumberjack then begins to follow them, there is a close up/tracking shot of their feet as they run away, whilst running away there will also be a point of view shot of them running through the trees to try to get away from. 
• The male character stops because he is fatigued but as he turns The Lumberjack throws the the axe towards his head. This is when a reverse shot will be used to show that The Lumberjack is behind them, in the background you will see The Lumberjack preparing to throw his axe. The camera then follows the axe with a quick panning shot and then the male character ducks as the axe hits the tree. He then runs in a different direction abandoning the girl.
• The girl continues running away from the Lumberjack but then using a horror film convention the girl will trip and fall, this will be shown by a closeup of her feet as she falls. The Lumberjack appears above her and at the camera cuts to a point of view shot as The Lumberjack swings the axe towards her head. For effect we are going to hit a watermelon with the axe to create the sound effect of her head being hit by the axe.
• The camera then cuts back to the boy then spots an abandoned house and tries to escape to it, the shots used are point of view and tracking shots. When the character approaches the house he hides behind the entrance of the house. When stood in the doorway he looks around the house. He then turns and looks through the doorway to see if The Lumberjack is there, he sees him run past so he is relieved and the non-diabetic music loses tension. However, when he turns to look again the lumberjack is standing there and the non-diagetic sound will be a jumpscare sound which will be loud and quite high pitch to add to the effect of the jumpscare. The camera then cuts to a point of view shot of the axe being swung at his head, then the screen will cut to black.

Planning : Target Audience Feedback

Our group sent out a feedback questionnaire to find out peoples opinion on our sixty second pitch. We created a survey on survey monkey and sent out links to thirty random people that were in our target audience age range. We collected the results and we got some interesting feedback to look over. These are the results to each question we asked:

This question allowed our group to see if the information which is going to be given in the following questions are true or just made up. 

This gave us the evidence that we were asking these questions to are target audience and not to people that ever watch horror movies, otherwise the information they would be giving us are invalid because we need to know if our ideas are good enough to work within a teen horror movie. 

This question allowed us to get feedback on the ideas we had within our 60 second pitch. By the evidence given we believe nearly every one liked our ideas for the horror film. 

From the evidence above it allowed us as a group to carry on the idea we originally came up with and not have to change anything because the candidates that answered these questions agree with our idea and feel like nothing should be changed. 

The final question in our survey was to see if our target audience would watch this film when released and from the evidence given only 10% of the people answering the questionnaire said they would not watch this film when released.