My Vision

I would ideally like our opening sequence to emulate the one from 'Seven' in respect to the music and titlees. Not so much focusing on the images and montage sequence.

Chase Scenes

I believe that if we include a brief chase scene in our sequence that it should not be so much of a running around frantically chase, but a more controlled brisk walk. This will add suspense and also be able to film. A similar sequence to what I believe we should aim can be found in more espionage films such as James Bond and The Bourne Trilogy. An example is the first 3mins 10 secs of this clip from Casino Royale (2006).

BLK feedback

Simon, can you link your prelim sequence to your evaluation, please?

Also please keep up with your Stage 1 posting - you need to show how the project is developing from your own perspective. What you have so far is fine, but try to avoid long-ish gaps between posts.

Please see the main blog posts for advice on how to proceed with your individual blog if you're not sure what you should be doing.

Film Soundtrack Ideas Inspiration

I felt that the type of music displayed in these clips would suit the atmospheric and dark feel to our film.

Preliminary Exercise Evaluation

1. My group consisted of me, Nick, Aarti and Tanya. Me and Nick were the actors so, therefore, Aarti and Tanya took the roles of Directors. Nick and I did, however, shoot one or two shots each when we were not needed to act in the shot. These include Nick entering the room and my reaction shot. When it came to editing we did roughly equal amounts of time each with me and Nick doing slightly more as we did not do much shooting. During the planning stage we all contributed to the storyboards and me and Nick wrote the script and shooting script.

2. To start our planning we chose our location which happened to be the room we were in. This made it easy to picture our shots and what the final sequence would look like. We then wrote our script which consisted of six lines. We next made a quick note of the order of the shots which would be seen in the clip. This then enabled us to create an accurate storyboard of 16 shots all drawn to the right cutting points. We next decided to make a quick sketch of the location we were shooting at. On this diagram we put symbols on each camera position in the room so that we can see how many shots we would need to take. From this picture we could also find the easiest order to shoot them in and we put this into our shooting script. This told us that we would need to film the whole conversation four times so we did them in a row so we did not have to set up our props or actors several times. This planning process made the shooting a lot easier and more efficient.

3. We used a mini-dv camera with a mini boom mic connected to the top of it. We also used a tripod which made it easier to take our pan at the start. To make sure the conversation was clear on the shots we connected a pair of headphones onto the camera which either Aarti or Tanya listened to the shot with. We did not need any artificial lighting as the room was bright enough and we were not trying to create any specific effects. During the editing process we used the programme Adobe Premier Pro to allow us to do our non-linear editing. To make it easier we used multiple editing lines and the source monitor to see what we were editing easily. We added a fade effect at the end using the video effects tool on the toolbar.

4. When planning we had to take into account whether the clothes being worn by us in the storyboard are going to be the same on the day. When shooting we had anticipate camera noise and background sound that was unwanted. We also had to make sure no-one entered the room or walked across the shot during filming. To avoid this the red filming light was turned on outside the room. Luckily as we were filming inside the weather was not a factor. When cutting our shots down to size during editing, as a precaution, we made sure we added a second or so to each end so that we did not cut to much off and not be able to get it back.

5. I felt that the match on actions in our sequence were very successful and were almost perfect. These occur when Nick's hand pushes the door handle, when the bag is on the table and when I look at the book over Nick's shoulder. These are probably the most technically good parts of the sequence. I am pleased that the speech is clear as it is the vocal point of the sequence. I think that almost all of the shots are cut at the right distances and don't look odd. I also believe that there are no obvious continuity errors. In hindsight I would not change much, but I would make the pan in the first shot slightly smoother and maybe have a slightly more abrupt ending.

6. From this task I have learnt that it is vitally important and makes the shooting and editing process much easier if you plan well and put time into it. It is also useful to make a clear shooting script so you can start shooting straight away and not waste valuable time. Through the editing session I also relearned all of the basic editing techniques that I had briefly forgotten. This task has ultimately set me up perfectly fo the main project ahead it which I can use these basic skills, but add a bit more creativity and experiment a bit more.

Famous Horror Quotes

Here are a few well-known one-liners from horror films :

• 'Heeeeeere's Johnny' - The Shining

• 'It's Alive, It's Alive' - Frankenstein

• ' I Ate His Liver With Some Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti' - Silence of the Lambs

• ' They're Here' - Poltergeist

• 'Everyone Goes a Little Mad Sometimes' - Psycho

• 'You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat' - Jaws

• 'I Want To Play a Game' - Saw

• 'To die...To be Really Dead, That Must Be Glorious' - Dracula

• 'Be afraid...Be Very Afraid' - The Fly

• 'All work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy' - The Shining

• 'I See Dead People' - The Sixth Sense

• 'Hi I'm Chucky Wanna Play' - Chucky

• 'The Power of Christ Compels You' - The Exorcist

• 'When There's No Room In Hell, the Dead Will Walk The Earth' - Dawn of the Dead

• 'You Can't Kill The Boogeyman' - Halloween

• 'A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother' - Psycho