Pre Production: Evidence of us practice filming

Before we began filming we needed to have a look at how to use the camera and how to use the features of it. We took it in turns to film and be an actor, so well got  a go at using the camera. Having a practice of using the camera before we go out and film is important so we don't go out, go to use it and have no idea on how to use it and there isn't anyone to ask for help, this way we know how to use the camera already. It might have been helpful to have done some outside filming as our 2 minute horror opening will all be done outside so worrying about the indoor lighting isn't important as we are not filming inside. 
In our opening we decided to have a leaf fall into a puddle, we practised throwing a piece of paper in the air then a someone walking on top of it, in doing this we decided if the scene would work and look right, which we thought it did.

Planning: Shot List

Brian had come up with a shot list so we know the range of shots we will use, it helps us picture what the opening will look like. The shot list is a list given to the film production which indicates the sequences of scenes being shot for the day. As for us, we are only required to film one scene, the opening 2 minutes of the film. Included is all the shot needed during the main photography, which will make the process go faster and/or smoother. That is the shot number, the location of where it is being shot, the shot type, the movements and angle used, the length of the scene, the dialogue, a brief description of what will happen, and the actors who will appear in the shot. 

Shot No.	Location	Shot Type	Movement	Angle	Length	Dialogue	Description/Action	Characters
1	Street	CU	Still	High shot	5 seconds	None	The title of the movie is going to appear on the puddle and will disappear when a character steps on it.	None
2	Street	CU	Tilt shot	N/A	5 seconds	J: Only a few miles away from it now. L: At last It’d better be worth it.	There will be a tilt shot going upwards on Jay, to show his power within the group. The name of the actor will appear on the screen.	Jay
3	Street	ECU	Still	N/A	3 seconds	J: It will be stop worrying man.	After the tilt, the camera will stay on Jay’s face to show his facial expressions to the audience.	Jay
4	Street	MS	Tracking Shot	N/A	4 seconds	Sarah: Look at William, bless him. We’re not even there but he’s trembling like a leaf.	Sarah walking up to Jay and talks about William. The name of Sarah's actor will appear on the screen.	Logan, Sarah and Jay
5	Street	CS	Tracking shot	N/A	2 seconds	J: What’s up Willy	There will be a leaf falling down and Willy will step on it which represents their fate.	None

6	Street	CU	Tracking shot	N/A	8 seconds	J: Why aren’t ya talking? W: I do not have anything to say.	Close-up on Jay and William. The name of William's actor will appear on the screen.	Jay
7	Street	MS	Tracking shot	N/A	4 seconds	L: Speechless already? You definitely will have something to say when you’ll see it.	Midshot on Logan. The name of Logan's actor will appear on the screen.	Logan
8	Street	MS	Tracking shot	N/A	2 seconds	J: Shut up Logan.	Midshot on Jay and William	William and Jay.
9	Street	LS	Tracking shot	N/A	5 seconds	None	Long shot from the woods, watching the characters walking away.	All characters
10	Street	CU	Tracking shot	N/A	15 seconds	S: Why is this street so quiet? L: It could be quieter if you shut up. S: Aha funny. S: There’s no signal either.	Midshot on Sarah and Logan.	Sarah and Logan.
11	Street	CU	Tracking shot	N/A	6 seconds	J: William? W: Yes? What is your biggest phobia?	Close up on Jay’s face.	Jay

12	Street	MS	Tracking shot	N/A	3 seconds	None	Midshot on Logan and Sarah who turn their head to hear William’s answer.	Logan and Sarah
13	Street	ECU	Still	N/A	7 seconds	W: Erm, I’d say ghosts but since they don’t exist, I’d say loneliness.	The extreme close up reveals the fear William is trying to hide inside and also his facial expression.	William
14	Street	MS	Still	N/A	4 seconds	None	Mid shot on Jay, Logan and Sarah who gently laugh without William noticing.	Jay, Logan and Sarah.
15	Street	MS	Tracking shot	Low shot	15 seconds	L: Wait, let me tie my laces. J: Hurry up it’s getting dark. L: I’ll catch you up.	Tracking shot on Logan tying his shoelaces, low shot on his shoes. Logan will tie his shoelaces in a manner as if he is trying to choke someone out.	Logan
16	Street	Long shot	Tracking shot	N/A	15 seconds	None	The villain walks up to Logan from behind, grabs his face, and pulls him out of the camera.	Logan and villain.

Planning: Casting

This task was completed by Brian as it was his responsiblity to complete casting in our action plan.

  

For our opening we needed 1 girl and 3 boys.

Jay: Jay is the "leader" of the group. He is sixteen and considered as a "womanizer". He likes a challenge and travels whenever he can with his father. As he is the youngest of 3 brothers, they often bully him and he likes to take frustration out on Logan and Sarah. He occasionally be seen as acting nice or sympathetic towards William, as he reminds him of him. For Jay, we are looking for someone who looks confident, can seem patronizing at times, but also lenient.

Logan: Logan is the "clown of the group" as well as the main bully. He is sixteen and is in William's form class. Logan's main hobby is bullying William. He looks upon Jay, but sometimes acts arrogant against him so he can have some "pride". He has a love/hate relationship with Sarah, but remains really close with her. For Logan, we are looking for someone who seems fearless, careless and has a good sense of humor.

Sarah: Sarah is the only girl of the group. She is considered as a modern-day tomboy. She only hangs around with Logan at school, with whom she has a close relationship. She does not have many other friends, but reads horror books a lot. Sarah and William would occasionally have conversations about books, but that happens rarely. For Sarah, we are looking for a girl who can look like tomboy and act like one as well as fierce and quite quirky.

William: William is the "underdog" of the group. He is a modern-day nerd and is very intelligent. He does not have many friends, as he'd rather stay at the library and read history books. He is the main target of Logan, who constantly mocks him at sixth-form. William is an only child and comes from a very wealthy family. He also sometimes can act in a condescending manner, which might be the main reason as to why Logan bullies him. For William, we are looking for someone who looks innocuous, and can behave courteous effortlessly.

We considered Evie because she's a great actress, co-operative as well as flexible. For the female character, we need a tom-boy looking girl and Evie could potentially be cast for the role.

We  considered Panashe because he's confident as well as reliable. If he was to be in our opening; he would be most likely to play Jay, the "bully", as his physique is more appropriate for the role.

This is John. John is a trustworthy individual, as well as a good actor. We considered John to play Logan, as he is comfortable playing a rebellious character. He also has a strong figure, which would improve credibility, as Logan and the rest of the group "bully" William. However, I also thought that John could play William, the "victim" of the group, as he is a quiet person. Playing someone with a similar personality would be easier as he will practically not have to act or pretend, and his acting will seem more natural.

We considered Agne because she is a reliable individual. To play Sarah, the only girl of the group, I wanted a girl who had a strong personality to keep up with the three other boys, especially Jay and Logan, and Agne's personality would be perfect to fit Sarah's. 

This is Titus. We considered Titus as he is a flexible actor. I thought that he would be better at playing Logan or Jay, as the are the "bullies" of the group, and Titus can easily interpret a bully. 

This is Jake. Jake studies Drama for A-Levels, thus why we've considered him. He is a flexible and friendly character. We thought he would be suitable playing William, as he would be more credible. 

Planning: Location

On this task I was responsible for taking the photos of our location possibilities.

We decided to do location planning as it will help us evaluate our options for the best location for our short film. Completing this task in the early stages of our planning will allow us to find more suitable location allowing us to create a more realistic and scary film. Doing location planning also allows us to avoid the last minute panic of where to film. Doing it now will allow us to take in more detailed decisions like what time will be best for filming in this location as in the angle of the sun could effect our footage. Or if we do it too late in the evening yes it would be scary but we will not have enough light to see our characters. In each different location it will have its different pros and cons. Doing our location planning in a early stage will allow us to prepare for the cons of the location and enhance the pros, so we can decide which location to use in our opening. 

Possible locations:

Location 1:This location was considered as it was a very remote area which can allow us to use many film conventions like a secluded location as from this shot there seems to be no sign of any houses also the no signal convention as there is no sign of people or connection (Ignoring the telegraph which we'd cut out if we used this location). Although I believe that this area was to open for our camping scene. I believe this as it does not allow our villain to use any obstacles to hide behind or use as cover whilst following our characters. However there is telegraph pole which ruins the scary remote look, if we used this location we'd have to make sure we didn't film any of the telegraph pole as if ruins the effectiveness. 

Location 2: This location was also considered as it looks like a enclosed location for our campers protecting them from the element of wind due to the high rising walls. The look of the is location is very good as it can display an old abandoned house. I looks old and abandoned like no one has gone near it in ages which is the effect we wanted the abandoned unused look. This can be seen by the overgrown vegetation and the randomly placed bricks. I also believe that in the night the back line of trees will create a very scary atmosphere whilst accompanied by the wind blowing over the walls, which will create a eerie uncomfortable unknown atmosphere.

Location 3: This location was also considered due to its confided location. This location would allow our villain to follow the campers through the high rising vegetation providing the perfect cover. The high rising walls also provided a sense of confinement and with the right camera angle can show to our audience that there is no escape. The villian also has windows and doorways to hide behind to watch the campers.

Location 4: This location was considered as the old abandoned road provides the perfect atmosphere. The old abandoned road provides the perfect information to the audience that they are far from any active civilisation. With the overgrown vegetation  providing the perfect cover for our villain to stork our campers. In the right lighting this can create a terrifying atmosphere for our audiences allowing them to sink into the reality of the film. The road looks unused as there is cracks in it which shows the road isnt important or it would be re done and cracks filled. In the picture you cant see it leads which leaves the mistery to where the road leads.

Location 5: This was at first considered as a location or our short film as its enclosed rooms provided some good shelter for the campers if its rains or its windy. Although we now believe this is not such a good idea as it does not allow any mysterious movement from our villain as it will easily be seen from the window. This can also make it awkward for us to record as the small areas will be hard to fit ourselves in and the campers with still enough room for them to move around.

Planning: Storyboard

For this task Oliver was responsible for completing the task

what is the purpose of a story board?

I believe the purpose of a storyboard in the pre-production section is to allow the directors and producers to visualize the film. This will allow them to spot any areas of improvement or any areas that could be scrapped. This will hep them perfect the film to the best of their ability by getting rid or improving some dull areas. A standard storyboard contains many areas. One of these areas is the picture itself. The picture allows the person to visualize the film before it is made. Another section included is the camera angle and movement. This contains a mixture of shots and movements for the user to see allowing them to visualize the camera moment and help them decide if there is a better alternative. A sound section is also included in the storyboard. this will contain both diagetic and non diagetic sound for the user to read. his can help the user decided if this is the right sound for that section of the film or if it all rune the scene for the audience.

Here is a small example of a storyboard:

Our storyboard:
For our story board i tried to create the same design as the example above by including all elements like the camera angles and movement, both diagetic and non diagetic sound, a visual image and a title.

This is our storyboard contain the information we think is needed for our short film. We used a storyboard as we believe that it makes things easier when it comes to the final filming. This storyboard givers our group a foundation to build from to complete our filming. It contains factors such as pictures. These pictures give us a visual image of what we want the certain shot to look like. We have also included the camera angle and movement. This section will allow us to determine what angel and movement will set suit that shot making it more enjoyable for our target audience. Another section it includes is sound. This allows us to get a remote idea of what we want to hear from the shot including both non and diagetic sounds.