CREDITS #2

One of the common feedbacks we received were that the credits had to include the surname (and what role they had) because we only had the initials which does not the format of film openings. This was very challenging for us as we were unsure of what to do as it would be difficult for us to arrange a new plan and do another day of filming. Another reason why it would be hard for us is that we would have to position the items on the desk again to match the other shots for the film to remain smooth, so together we came up with two possible solutions:

1) CUT OUT AND STICK THE LETTERS AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME INCLUDING THE CREW'S FULL NAME AND THEIR ROLES THEN REFILM THE ZOOM IN PANNING SHOT OF COLLAGE ONLY

2) ADD IN THE CREW'S FULL NAME AND THEIR TASK DIGITALLY

As the poster and camera was kept at my house, I thought that it would be best if I did the cutting and sticking as well as the filming of the second credit sequence of the board. This was the outcome:

Class Feedback

We showed our rough cut for the rest of the class to see in order for them to be able to give feedback (by filling in a sheet of what we can improve and what impressed them) so that we can use to improve our final film.  I recorded their reaction using my phone:

What we will keep the same (or do slight tweaking) : 

• Collage - panning into names/credits
• Music

How we could improve:

• Color grading 
• Retake the credits part (collage part)
• OR Add names digitally
• Shorten and add details
• Make video smoother (stabilize some shots)
• Find a way to make it more easy to understand

Rough Cut

We composed a rough cut for our title sequence to briefly present the order of our shots so that it is easier when we are editing the actual opening.

COLLAGE BOARD CREATION

 We did a collage of cut-out faces of ladies from magazines and stuck it onto one A1 piece of blank paper. This is the where we're going to show the credits and names of producers as well. We tried to make it as creepy as possible by sticking in eyes that didn't match and making new faces with weird proportions. It took us quite some time however we were really pleased with how it turned out. Here is a time lapse of us doing the collage:

Film Company

During today's lesson I created an edit for the Film company transition using Adobe After effects:

We decided to go with the font Trajan Pro 3 as it is clear and easy to read. It looks similar to the font Times new roman and also has a modern mix to it. 

2) After this, we talked about the sound that we wanted to use. We searched through youtube and found some sound effects:

We didn't go for this one as we wanted the sound to be quiet and faint to slowly build suspense and make it creepy at the same time. 

We agreed that this also works for the film company. The sound of the clock links to the idea of time, which relates to the character and her old age (time is running out for her). We tried to put it together with the transition to see what it would turn out like: 

In the end, we went with this one as it has a creepy sound and fits in with the genre thriller. 

Finally, we ended up choosing this one as it fits the title transition best. It also has a continuous in the end which goes in with the part where the title is gradually fading out.

FILMING PROCESS

We immediately started setting up props and doing the make up because we had limited time as we only booked the hotel for a day (due to budgets). Here is a fast forward footage of me doing make up for Claire:

THE MAKE UP:

It was decided that we did a make up similar to this. We thought that it would suit best with our character as:

- Contouring of the face will make facial structure more defined, making her appear more slim and fragile

- Wounds, scar - create sense of danger, make her look creepier

- Grey hair (we sprayed Claire's hair with white hairspray to create this effect) to emphasise old age








Right after we finished preparing the set, we quickly started filming. We agreed that it would take longer to complete the shots needed for including credits (where the desk and collage board was required) so we did the shots that included the desk before moving on to the toilet scene:

Location Scouting Report

Location Scouting - DAY 7

Today, we went location scouting around Ari. One of our options was to film at my old house so we went to check it out however it didn't look creepy enough so we walked around the area to find some old hotels in order to film the following day. Here is a vlog I made from the clips we filmed during the day using Prima's GoPro:

Locations:

1) Condotel Hotel

2) Pradipat hotel

We ended up reserving Condotel Hotel (although it was quite expensive!!) for the next day since it has a bathtub with a shower curtain which we needed for the toilet scene.

CASTING

Finding the most suitable person that will fit our role of an emotionally unstable lady was super hard as we had to consider so many different attributes and elements such as:

- Female (preferably caucasian/european)

- Appearance (Slender and skinny, with long hair)

- Acting skills (can manage still face and do creepy expressions)

- Available at the filming day

During class, we discussed about the potential actress for our main role. We had two people in mind so we went to ask them if there would be alright and comfortable with all of this. Both of them agreed to doing it however were both not free during the filming day that we planned therefore we were struggling with coming up with a solution for a while. In the end, we decided to have Claire act as the lady since she fitted in best with our ideal actor. We thought that there is also an advantage for having Claire as our actor; Since she is a member of our group, She knows what we a looking for and can easily rein act that to create a believable character.

Risk assessment

SCHEDULE

In order to make things clearer of what and when we have to complete our work-

These are our aims and set due dates:

• To finish our creative process by Friday 20th January
• Location scouting and gather all of our props on Saturday 21st January
• Shooting day on Sunday 22nd January

This is how we intend our day to go:

Exploring After Effects!

After my failed attempt of trying to create a simple title transition for my opening sequence, I realized that I had absolutely no idea how to edit properly so during my free time I taught myself ( in baby steps ) how to split and reverse clips using Adobe After Effects. The clips in the video are the ones I took using my GoPro when I went to Maldives last year (2016):

Here is the final outcome:

Music - DAY 6

Today we did research for inspiration and reference that we might be able to add into our opening. I looked for some music and sound effects that might be appropriate for this:

The sound of the vinyl crackle would be played along with the music as the music would be played on a turn table to suggest that the vinyl player is very old. 

I, Claire and Prima agreed that this would fit best as the sound of the woman in high notes almost makes it uncomfortable to listen to. The song is not english language therefore the audience is even more curious of what is happening and is more engaged to the opening. We decided on this as we were inspired by the film "Insidious" specifically in the scene where the song "Tiptoe through the tulips" was played - when added along with the other micro-elements, was really effective.

Another diegetic sound that we thought of adding is the paper sound effect as we are panning through her desk. Again, the sound is slow and uncomfortable, building suspense and suggesting disruption as well as danger.

PROPS - DAY 5

During today’s lesson we discussed about the props that we were going to bring along and use with us during the filming process.

COSTUME IDEAS

-Silk bathrobe to give a false sense of youth and seduction as it is usually what young women wear 

-Skin can easily be shown through so audience can see the wrinkled, aged skin of character

-Sense of comfort and home to symbolize how at ease she is doing her “work” at home to look beautiful

-Bare feet (again, more aged skin can be shown through) and gives a creepy effect

-Hair is tied back so easy to see white hair

- Loose so audience can see her spine as she is working (also symbolizes her old age and how her skin is no longer firm and tight)

PROPS RESEARCH

Vinyl player - vintage, old, emphasize her age

Rusted old scissor - dirty as she uses to cut and sew skin

Fake blood

Sewing tools - needles, thread, etc

Magazines - faces, she cuts to create perfect face

Old comb - with hair stuck on it

Hair extensions - grey

Tape/Glue

Storyboard (2nd sequence)

For the film opening, we want to create suspense and build tension by revealing information about the character little by little (of how unstable she is). Before drawing a storyboard, we searched for the following pictures in order for us to have a brief idea of our composition for each frame that we are going to shoot.

We decided to do some tweaking to our initial idea and storyboard that we planned. Here is our second idea for our sequence:

1) Solid black background with faint diegetic sound of someone walking along the hallway

2) Sharp cut to hallway -  

During the lesson, we discussed about the lightings that we were going to use. We searched images of creepy hallways and as a result we agreed to go with the greenish/blue lighting/colour as this makes it mysterious and creates a sense of unease.

3) Camera slowly zooms in from an empty eerie hallway with a door at the end of the hall and continues to zoom through the peephole of the door where we see a woman sitting at her desk

4) Camera pans the room to her desk where we see her wall full off cut out faces and magazine pages and there is a point of view shot of the woman working. The audience sees her wrinkly old hands cutting pieces out from magazines. Things on her desk include : tape, scissors, magazines, sewing tools 

5) She gets up to leave (camera still in point of view) to the bathroom and stops in front of the mirror, her face and identity is revealed to the audience for the first time as an old lady.

6) Shot cuts to the back of her head while looking at the mirror, showing a few grey hair and skin of her back

7) Extreme close up shot as she slowly pulls a strand of grey hair. This connotes violence and frustration (and her insecurity) the character has towards herself (self destruction).

8) Strand of hair lands in the sink and we see that there are many strands (emphasizes her old age)

9) Woman walks out of the toilet and camera zooms out to wide shot of her room gradually

where body/leg can be seen hanging out of the bathtub with blood dripping 

This is the storyboard for this idea and a video to explain the camera movement in each frame:

Ideas and Inspirations - DAY 4

AESTHETICS:

ORPHAN
As we watch the movie, there is a gradual change of lightings from the beginning to the end. Initially, ambient lighting used which makes the atmosphere appear bright and normal. However later on in the movie where Esther is in the toilet kicking and screaming, the lighting and colours become darker. This suggests that there has been a change in mood and emotion, and that everything is no longer normal. The dull and minimal colours in the scenes gives a sinister mood, foreshadowing danger for other characters as we approach the ending of the movie.

We will apply this to our film opening by decreasing the saturation of our film (also using colour correction and adjust the lighting) and have it mostly dark/black to create the same mood and feel.

DON'T BREATHE

During the scenes in the basement (which is during the climax of the film), the lighting and temperature of the movie changes to a cooler tone of blue and grey. However, when the characters are not in the basement, the colours are warm, consisting of orange and brownish tones. The colour these scenes succeed to create a very eerie and mysterious feel to the film (building up tension) by using strong shadows along with these colour selections. We thought of applying this to our own film opening by emphasising warmer tones throughout.

Creating a Character - DAY 3

Outline of the main character:

• Caucasian
• Old lady - 53 years
• Has mental illness - wants to look young; she does this by killing young, beautiful girls and using their skin to sew onto her face
• Lonely, depressed, and insecure
• Single - lives alone in an old apartment
• Killer

Her Appearance:

• Doesn't look her age (around 40)
• Skinny, always have narrow/slanted posture to reflect her insecurity
• Pale, white skin
• (Slightly) Wrinkly skin
• Thin - to give an impression of fragility and weakness
• Tall, Slender

Inspiration - 

1) Annie Wilkes from Misery (1990)

Annie is a psychotic, former nurse who is a number one fan of romance novels, including the Misery series by Paul Sheldon.

She has some type of mental illness that seems to border the lines of being manic-depressive, and is also suffering from a severe case of paranoia. 

There is a connection between Annie and our character as they are both mentally ill and obsessed over one particular thing to an extent where they are no longer humane. 

3) Mother Gothel from Tangled

Her similarity with our character is that she wants to stay youthful. She achieves this by trapping and keeping Rapunzel in a tower, using her power.

3) Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs

Jame Gumb or known as “Buffalo Bill”, is a transsexual, and particular disturbing antagonist for kidnapping overweight ladies and removing their skin as if they were cattle. He does this to create a female skin suit to hide his manhood.

He links with our character as they both own a workroom in a basement, and kills women for their skin.

4) Evil Queen (Ravenna) from Snow White and the Huntsman

She captures young women into her Kingdom to drain their youthfulness. The reason for this is to be immortal, young, and beautiful for eternity.

5) Esther from Orphan

Esther is really a 33 year old woman (who looks like a 9-year-old) with a rare disease that stops her from ageing (in appearance). She goes into peoples homes all sweet and innocent, then tries to engage in sexual activities with the man of the family. When he says no, she takes revenge and kills all the family.

Like our character, she is a murderer and has absolutely no mercy/regret after killing people. She is emotionally unstable as she is constantly having mood swings, and raging.