20/03/12 - Finished film trailer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FulO-Y7BPKc&list=UU14URpum0snLzeqdHriBaGg&index=1&feature=plcp

18/03/12 - Eighth set of shots

Here are some images of our friends helping us when filming, as well as a photograph of me and Kate working on the coursework and finishing off the editing process for the film trailer.
The eighth set of shots focused on the conversation between the two friends, Shannon and Chelsea, as they needed to be refilmed. One particular shot that we filmed was Shannon and Chelsea actually sitting down on the bench, as before we had simply had one clip of them walking towards it, and they suddenly appeared on top of it. Adding this clip in the middle will help with continuity, ensuring the scene actually makes sense.

As the memory stick that contained many of our clips went missing before I could upload the eighth set of shots to my blog, if you click this link you will be able to see a few of the clips on Kate's blog: http://katelongley2.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/not-finishedeighth-set-of-shots.html

17/03/12 - Seventh set of shots

Here is a printscreen of the many different clips we filmed for our seventh set of shots.

When we were doing our coursework, the memory stick that contained our media clips for the seventh and eigth shots went missing before I could add the clips to my blog. For the clips for the seventh set of shots, you can follow this link to Jeni's blog to see a few of the clips from this stage in our coursework: http://jenniferhalla2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/seventh-set-of-shots.html

16/03/12 - Adjusting the volume on the film trailer INCOMPLETE

13/03/12 - 2nd Rough cut of the trailer

This is the second roughcut of our entire film trailer, and after watching the first one, we feel as though we have made a significant amount of progress. Some of the shots that show 'Shannon' and 'Chelsea' walking need to be shortened to ensure that the trailer does not begin to feel like a short film. Additionally, some of the clips that are quite shaky need to be refilmed, as well as the clips that show the conversaiton between two of our main characters, as the acting does not appear serious enough in some places. Compared to our previous roughcut, we have refilmed a lot of our shots, but have made progress with our filming. Our clips are of a better quality, and with these new clips, we will not have to refilm a significant amount of shots. Our main goal is to refilm a few of the shots between the two friends having a conversation, and after that, our trailer may need to be edited a little bit more before it is fully completed.

13/03/12 - Recording sound for the trailer

This is the camera we used to record the clips as well as the sound, although sometimes we used another video camera to record other sound clips, like the sound of leaves crunching or footsteps. We decided to use this camera for our filming because it produced a better quality image and sound compared to the previous camera.

These are some sound clips of our character 'Lily' struggling in the cupboard, which helped to produce a muffled sound against the clothes surrounding her, which will be faintly heard on the trailer. The other clip shows her screaming, which will also be heard on the trailer. On our editing programme we will increase the volume on these particular audio clips so that it will be effective and more realistic.

28/02/12 - Sixth set of shots

This gif shows the changed costumes for 'Shannon' and 'Chelsea'. Although their clothes have changed, we tried to ensure that their characters personalities were still clear. 'Chelsea' is still wearing light blue jeans with brown boots, but we changed her top to a darker colour and added a dark coat as well. 'Shannon' can still be seen wearing a lot of white so that a link with 'Lily', who is the character that gets kidnapped, is still visible.

We thought that a clip showing our characters from behind a bush could help build the tension and suspense, as it gives the impression that they are being watched by someone.

When filming we tried to find an effective way of recording a conversation between two people and so we filmed it on a slight diagonal, but we may try and use a variety of different shots to get the dialogue across.

Roughcut of trailer:

This is the first roughcut of our trailer, and after watching it we decided to evaluate it by showing it to our teacher and asking for comments. As a group, we felt that the trailer seemed more like a short film, and so we decided that many of the clips needed to be shortened and have faster cuts to ensure the tension and suspense was maintained. The scene that shows the abductor walking up the stairs towards 'Lily' is the only one that we feel confident with, as we feel it really creates tension, but we will still refilm the shot as the quality is not great. Additionally, the trailers length is too long, and so we will need to cut it down to make sure we stay within the guidelines of an actual film trailer. Furthermore, we also felt as though the music we used did not compliment the film as it didn't fit in with the clips, and so we will have to research into other music that we could use. When we refilm we will have to make sure that we use more reaction shots to ensure that the shocked and surprised looks on our characters link into other reactions shown in thriller films when important information is revealed. We will also change the cameras position to show a change in power and another goal is to use a variety of shots during the conversation between the two friends. Moreover, the final scene that shows 'Lily' struggling in the cupboads will need to be refilmed, and when we do, she will need to struggle more to ensure it seems realistic.

We will refilm our entire trailer using this timetable:

17/02/12 - 1st Roughcut/Fifth set of shots - Shannon and Chelsea parts

Having decided to film more shots today, we thought it would be helpful to look at the weather forecast to ensure that we would not be met by rain etc. After discovering that the weather would be fine, we went ahead with filming.

Here is a gif that shows the outfits that Jeni and Kate wore to help reflect their characters personality. Jeni can be seen wearing a dark green top, blue jeans and brown boots with her hair tied up as her character is supposed to lose interest in searching for their kidnapped friend. We thought that using incredibly casual clothes would reflect her relaxed attitude to the situation. Kate can be seen wearing dark jeans and a red cardigan that highlight her white top, which creates a link between her and Lily who can be seen wearing a red dress and a white cardigan. This would hopefully help to show that Kate and our character 'Lily' have more of a connection. 

This is the script we created for the bedroom scene where the characters 'Shannon' (played by Kate), who is the friend that becomes obsessed with finding 'Lily' (played by Georgi), and 'Chelsea' (played by Jeni) discuss their missing friend, and what could have happened to her. During this scene is when we finally discover who is more concerned for their friend, and this dialogue helps to establish the characters bonds with each other.

A few clips from filming:

09/02/12 - Fourth set of shots

When doing our fourth set of shots, we had to ensure that the makeup "Lily" wore was significantly different to how it was when we filmed the field scene. As she is supposed to be in a stressful situation in a cupboard as she's been kidnapped, we needed this to be incredibly clear in her appearance.

We smudged her makeup for the shots involving her being tied up in the cupboard, also adding black smudges along her cheeks to suggest that there is dust and dirt within the cupboard as she obviously wouldn't look freshly made up if she had been trapped for a certain amount of time.

Setting:

  

The area we filmed in was a dark cupboard, that we filled with boots that looked manly, and surrounded "Lily" in them. It is important to ensure that the setting/cupboard looks like it belongs to a man, as we will make it clear in our trailer that her abductor is male. Filming her in the cupboard proved to be quite difficult as it was hard to make light reach the corners where she was sitting. Using torches, we managed to create a certain amount of light that didn't look harsh, while one of us moved closer to film her. We made sure that you could clearly see that she was tied up, and that she was in the same outfit that you see her wearing on her walk home from the party. Her hair is also ruffled so that it is clear she has had an unpleasant experience and has struggled.

Stair scene:

We wanted to film "Lily's" abductor walking up the stairs covered in an eery orange glow, so we had Kate walk up the stairs first so we could practice how to film him effectively. We removed all family photos from the wall, and lay down to get a low angle shot of just his head bobbing up the stairs, until you finally see the entire body reach the top. The face is never fully revealed as we wanted to keep the abductor's identity anonymous, to add to the suspense and tension.

After filming Kate walking up the stairs, we eventually filmed the abductor (her dad) walking up the stairs, using the same technique that we used for her shots. We felt that the shot was successful, and that because we only really see the abductor's silhouette, the suspense is increased as he isn't revealed. Taking a photograph of him standing in the doorway near "Lily's" cupboard, we had him stand in the doorway so that you never actually see him interact with her, also adding to the tension.

Video Clips

This is a video clip of 'Lily' struggling in the closet, as she clearly has her hands tied up, and her mouth covered so that she can't make much noice. We thought that this would be an effective shot as the dark lighting gives it an eery feel, but when we reshoot some of the clips, we will use more lighting equipment so that she can be seen more clearly. We will also ask our actress to struggle more, to make it seem more realistic.

This video shows us directing Kate as she walks up the stairs, as we felt it would be helpful to practice the shot of the abductor walking up the stairs before actually trying it. This would help us see any issues before shooting the clip. We asked her to try and make her footsteps loud and heavy as she walked up the stairs, and using the sound equipment, the volume would be louder and more effective.



This video clip will show the audience who they assume to be the kidnapper, and so we felt it was important to ensure that the clip was eery, and that his progress up the stairs was slow, so that the tension and suspense could continue to build. By concealing his face, and only showing the outline of his body, his real identity is never revealed.

We thought that we could show the legs and feet of the abductor at the end of the trailer, as this would give the audience another quick glimpse at who he might be, without revealing too much. Additionally, this clip will be shown while 'Lily'can be heard screaming in the closet as she hears him approaching, also adding to the tense atmosphere, as it is clear she's now even more distressed.

31/01/12 - Sound

Foley work:

Having faced issues trying to get our actresses to film some scenes after school, we decided to focus on recording sound and researching music for our thriller film trailer instead. When we first tried to film sound for our film trailer we encountered many problems. Trying to record fast footsteps and the wind proved to be a task we had originally thought would have been far from difficult. Using the natural sound that we created while filming our first few shots did not work as well as we had imagined, and so we began doing some foley work of our own, so that we could find the process easier when creating the sound for our final trailer.

Definition of foley: Foley is a term that describes the process of live recording of sound effects that are created by a Foley artist, which are added in post production to enhance the quality of audio for films, television, video, video games and radio.
We recorded each other walking on some fallen leaves, but because the boom that allowed us to extend the cameras reach made some creaky noises, it interfered with the sound recording of the leaves. As a result, we had to arrange another day to record more sounds. Along with these recordings, we also recorded ourselves breaking branches and a bird that could be heard in a tree.

V1:


V2:


Video 1 & 2: When our main character is walking alone in the field, we wanted it to sound like she was walking upon some leaves. The sound was not loud enough when we actually recorded her walking on the leaves, so we crunched up leaves next to the microphone instead. This created a similar effect, and made the sound clearer and louder. The first clip shows our first attempt, and me walking on leaves, and the second shows Jeni crunching the leaves with her hands to create a better sound.

V3:

Video 3: A sound we tried to recreate was her footsteps. The sound of her actually walking could not be heard on the clips, and so we tried to record one of our team members walking slowly and then picking up speed. This idea worked more, and so when creating our final sounds for the trailer, we could re-record our own footsteps again.


V4:


V5:


Video 4 & 5: We wanted to record the sound of branches moving and twigs breaking, and so the first time we tried to record that sound, we had Kate shake the branches of a tree, but the sound wasn't picked up very well by the boom. The second video shows Jeni breaking the twigs with her hands, which created a clear and crisp sound. This could be used while Lily is being followed in the fields, to show that someone is behind her.

V6:


V7:


Video 6 & 7: We tried to recreate natural sounds, as well as record them. The first video shows our attempts to record the sound of a bird that we could hear in the trees. We felt that it would be a nice sound to play when Lily is walking/running through the fields, as it could add an eery feel to the shot. The second video shows one of us trying to recreate the sound of wind by breathing over the boom, as no wind could actually be heard when we were recording, but unfortunately our attempt wasn't successful.

Sound effects:

As well as researching foley work, I thought it would be a good idea to look at different sound effects that we could potentially use with our own trailer. I looked up the sound of footsteps to compare them to our own recordings. I also thought it would be useful to research into someone recreating the sound of a person breathing, as this is something we had trouble recording effectively.


This sound clip has been recorded by another user on Youtube who tried to recreate the sound of someone walking along a dirt track. As our trailer is mainly being filmed in a field, it is something we could possibly use, or try to create ourselves. As the pace is fairly slow, it would only be of use at the beginning of the trailer, where the young girl is unaware that she is being followed. As she begins to run, we would have to ensure the sound of the footsteps also quickened.


Failing to find a decent sound clip of someone breathing, I thought it would also be useful to research into the sound effects of someones heart beating faster. This could be played, along with the music, as our main character is being chased through the woods.

Research into composers:

Another important part of our film trailer is the music we will use throughout. As a team, after being given some suggestions, we researched some composers who we felt had created a piece of music that we could use to create suspense and tension.



Krzysztof Penderecki - Concerto Grosso No.1 in c minor: This particular piece of music has an eery feel to it, which is created by the cello's, and violins. The subtle use of what appear to be cymbals also add to the eery atmosphere. As the piece continues on, the music becomes louder and from 1:00-1:40 the music becomes increasingly louder, and if paired with our trailer, it could be used during the scene where our actress is chased. 1:30-1:40 particularly sounds like music that would be effective in conveying the danger the young girl is in, and what a crucial role her kidnapping has in the film.



Jose Serebrier - Greenberg - Symphony No. 5: This classical piece of music is also very dramatic, and could potentially be used within our film trailer. Up until 1:20 the music is slow, and the instruments played create an eery sound because they create a low sound that builds tension. At 4:30, the music becomes significantly louder after the buildup and stays loud until 5:26. The video is also full of parts where the music is quiet and the instruments played create high notes, which could be used on parts like when our main character "Lily" hears her kidnapper coming up the stairs towards her.

Hans Zimmer - The Ring End Credits, Time, and The Dark Knight Theme: When researching composers and pieces of music we could possibly use for our trailer, I remembered Hans Zimmer composed a piece of music called "Time" for the film Inception,  and so I thought it would be a good idea to research into some of his music and see if any could be used in our trailer.


This piece of music has many moments that could be used to build tension within our trailer. Although it moves at a slower pace than other music, there are moments when the volume increases dramatically, which could be used effectively. The first minute is quiet and creates an eery feel, which could be used to create suspense and tension at the beginning of our trailer, when "Lily" is seen walking in the field alone. At 2:02 a beat can be heard behind the higher notes of the instruments, which could be used when she begins to run away from her kidnapper, and could potentially work effectively because it sounds similar to a heart beat. While the entire piece would not work for the entire trailer, there are elements of it that could be used.


At some points during this theme, the music sounds too uplifting for our thriller trailer, but certain parts like the music at 3:42 until 4.16 where the music is dramatic and loud could be used for when the kidnapper is seen walking up the stairs towards "Lily". The volume increasing could show the danger she is in and the severity of the situation.


From 2:00 until 3:10 the music becomes intense and dramatic, giving off a creepy and eery feel that could work effectively in our trailer when "Lily" is walking alone in the field, or as our other two main characters, "Shannon" and "Chelsea" realise they are being watched in the field, or that their friend may have been kidnapped. From 6:50 until 7:15, the music is mainly very low notes that also add to the tension and suspense, and so this could help us when trying to make the audience uneasy because of the events occuring in the trailer.

08/11/11 - Third set of shots, including editing

For our third set of shots, we changed the time in which we filmed it. Instead of filming the clips in broad daylight and then editing them so that it would look darker, we just filmed at night, but tried to add small amounts of light by using various torches. Unfortunately, we faced many problems when filming during this time and month:

• As it is late in the year, the fields were extremely wet and muddy, which meant that our actress was restricted when it came to running scenes. To try and fix the issue, we made sure that all shots involving her running were only mid/long shots, so that her feet would not be seen.
• The camera that we usually use to film was not available, so we borrowed Kate's instead as it still produces the same quality clips. When trying to use the camera to film, we found that it had trouble focusing on our actress in the dark, which meant that a few clips were slightly blurry. This can be seen on the shot of our character Lily's eyes, where the camera can clearly be seen focusing halfway through the clip. As a result of using a different camera, when it came to uploading the video clips onto Adobe Premiere Elements, the form the clips were in was not compatible with the programme. We then had to begin using another editing programme called MoviePlus. As neither our teacher or ourselves were familiar with the programme, we had to teach ourselves how to use it, using the helpful guides given as support.

We are aware that there is no sound, as we wanted to focus entirely on the camera angles and shots we used, and then on the sound later on in the production process.

10/10/11 - Second set of shots

We decided to try and film various other clips that could be added to our trailer, but we encountered many problems. Upon arriving at our destination, we discovered that one group member had forgotten to charge the camera's battery. This meant that we could not film any video clips with a professional camera, and so because we felt like we should still try and film something, we used my phone, (HTC Wildfire) which has a resolution of 5M (2592 x 1952). We used my phone to film video clips that we could use for testing certain parts of the trailer. The first clip was the only one filmed on the video camera. Shannon, the girl wearing the scarf is another actress that will feature in our trailer. Kate had to stand in for our other actress, as at this particular stage of filming we have not chosen who will play her role.

We tried to film our actors walking down the length of the field for a few seconds, to allow the audience to establish where they are. When filming our final clips for the trailer, we would probably only film them walking for 20-25 seconds. This clip would develop the trailer, as it shows the moment when the two friends of Lily find her abandoned phone in the field, leading them to question her whereabouts. It will probably contain no dialogue that the audience can hear.

We decided that a clip of the phone just before the kidnapper rang the two friends would add to the feeling of suspense. We thought that the number appearing as 'unknown' would also add to the tension we hope to create, as it becomes clear the caller is not an aquaintance. When we actually film this clip, we will use the camera's ability to zoom into a steady shot, allowing us to get a clear image of the phone's screen.

Filming them finding the phone was also another idea we had, as we felt that it would explain the situation, and why they have found the phone. When filming the final shot of this, we will most likely keep the same length, but use the camera's features like zoom, and the tripod, to create a clear image. We may also film it in a way that allows the audience to see their faces and reactions, as well as giving them more instructions during filming. For example, we could ask them to stand in such a way that one of them is not hidden by the other.

A five second clip of one of the friends picking up the phone, is another idea that we could. Instead of the previous clip, this could be used as a replacement. It also allows the audience to understand how the friends came to find the phone. Furthermore, we could film it using a close up of the phone, and then her reaction, to allow a clearer image.

A close up of one of the friends on the phone is also a shot that we thought would be useful, as it would allow the audience to see their reaction to finding the phone. When filming it, the clip would obviously not be rotated the wrong way, as the tripod would ensure it would be steady and standing upright.

Despite trying to film anything that would help with our research, we did encounter many problems. For example:

• The camera not being fully charged meant that we could not film clips with professional equipment. Furthermore, it meant actually filming caused many problems, as the phone's camera did not produce the best clips.
• A dog that was owned by one of my partners kept finding its way into the shot, which is something that we will have to prevent in the future.
• One of our actresses was not decided upon, which meant that we could not film too many shots.
• Due to the windy weather, the actresses in the clips had trouble acting without it interfering. For example, it caused problems with their hair, as their faces could rarely be seen.

The next time we film, we will take into account the issues we had with filming, and address them so that we may overcome them.

This is the beginning of our trailer, which we have edited so that it looks like the filming takes place at night:

The clips have had a dark tint applied to them so that it appears to be night, but when we re-shoot, we will try and film when it is a little darker, as you can still clearly see the shadows made by the sunlight hitting the trees. As a result of adding the blue/grey tint, the shots began to look blurry, which is an issue we will need to address. Another issue we will need to address is that the person walking behind 'Lily' is clearly a woman, and so we will need to use someone else that looks more manly (e.g. a parent), or bulk up the clothing. We will need to also discuss the clothing of both 'Chelsea' and 'Shannon', who are the two girls we see walking in the clip. Different coloured clothing will help us understand the difference in their personalities. For example, the girl who becomes obsessed with finding Lily could be wearing white or bright colours, while the other girl who is not affected by Lily's disappearance as much could be seen wearing plain colours, like dark green with blue jeans.

16/09/11 - First set of shots

These are some of the photographs that we took of each other using the filming equipment. To enable us all to feel capable of using the camera fairly easily, we all took equal turns filming various shots and directing Georgi. Doing these practise shots allowed us to really understand the different elements that go into filming, and meant that many of our ideas could be tried and tested to see if they could work.

As our actress ran past the camera, it became clear that lighting would become an issue. We were shooting during the daytime, and so the natural lighting provided by the sun resulted in the video clip being too light. We understood that this was an issue, and so we thought of ways in which we could avoid this problem.

After thinking of ways that we could overcome the lighting problem, we decided to use one of the effects provided on the camera. It added a light blue tint onto video clip, giving the impression that it was filmed later on in the evening. Despite it adding a nightime effect which we would like to recreate ourselves, it did not solve the issue of her appearing almost ghostly because of the amount of light.

 

We decided to film her walking along a trail in our chosen location, hoping that we would be able to direct her to look defenceless while on her own. She huddled in on herself, wrapping her arms around her sides so that she would appear cold, also adding to the sense of vulnerability.

Again, we filmed her walking along the trail, but instead of walking towards and past the camera, we shot her from behind as she walked away. We thought that this could be a good clip to use during the trailer, to show her journey home from the party. When we come to the editing stage, we would reduce the length of the clip, as we feel 10 seconds may be too long.

  

Deciding to change her situation from walking home to running, we filmed her looking behind her as her speed increased. We had hoped that this would create suspense, prompting the audience to wonder why she suddenly feels as though she is being watched or followed. Her shoes prevented her from running quickly, but we felt that we liked that it hindered her, as it reinforced the idea of her being weak.

  

We thought about filming her from below her chin while she pretended to walk along, using a close up to show her facial expressions clearly. As we were filming her, we asked her to appear as though she was bored and unaware of her surroundings.

Filming a close up of her shoes as she walked was something we thought of after watching a few film trailers ourselves. It was a shot we saw used often, to show a passing of time on a journey. We decided to film her for a fairly long time, so that we could select the part of the clip that we could use in the trailer, rather than the entire 10 seconds.

When we had finished all of the filming of our actress Georgi, we decided that it would be beneficial to film an establishing shot of our location. We thought that it could possibly be used as the opening clip to our trailer, but we would slightly reduce the length of time it was shown for.