We drew 2 rough ideas on Photoshop to help us decide how we wanted to lay out our poster and what we wanted to include. We had 2 main ideas. From comparing these drawings we decided as a group that we wanted to layout the our poster like our second design.
![]() We began filming at 4pm when it began getting dark so we had the right lighting for shooting our scenes ![]() To film the blood scene, we placed layers of cling film on the floor to ensure the blood (food colouring) didn't stain the floor. ![]() Once placing the cling film we used a straw to blow the blood, which in turn looked as though it was coming out of the dolls face. By using a straw it enabled us to make the blood flow without our hands being in shot. ![]() While filming, the only problem we encountered was the china doll breaking during shooting the throwing scene. However we managed to work around this having already filmed the shots we needed with the china doll's face in, so the doll breaking didn't affect any of our shots. ![]() We also worked around the problem by supergluing the face back together. This worked in our favour as the doll looked more creepy with a cracked face when filming the blood scene. ![]() Using a print out of our Production logo and a piece of black card with a rectangle cut out, our production logo was able to come to life. Using the conventions seen in other horror specific film production studios we identified that it is common to have a black background, white writing, some form of blood or the incorporation of the colour red and some appropriately suspenseful sound effects. So using garage band we made a short clip of music to be played over the top of the clip. I used two stools next to each other and stuck the black paper and logo so that it was across the gap in-between the chairs. Using a phone light I illuminated behind the paper and filmed from underneath while a friend dripped red food colouring across the logo. I used final cut pro to cut the clip and modify it so it was quicker and to render the music and footage together. This is the first draft of our short film, it has a basic outline as to what the footage will look like and the storyline of the short. It's not the complete story, but we have an idea of how to improve after showing it to our peers. We received feedback, stating that the camera work was alright but some shots needed reshooting and to framed better. The lighting and colours in the shots were good and muse-en-scene was appropriate. We decided to make a list of the parts that needed tightening up and reshooting. A key part in our short is the moment that Rose realises that the china doll is the child. To do this we're having some family photos framed on the wall and where the baby's face would be will be replaced with the face of the china doll. To do this I collected old baby photos from some volunteers, then I had Molly replicate some of the poses that the babies are in with China Doll, Mercy. I used Photoshop to edit on Mercy's face over the babies. I had to warp the photos so that they were regular rectangles and fitted the canvas space. Then I adjusted the exposure, brightness and contrast so that they were visible and looked normal.
The babies faces are in different positions, so Molly had to take a variety of shots that I could use. There was still lots of transforming needing to be done so that the dolls head fitted properly and didn't look weird. Then I had to adjust the colours and vibrancy of the dolls head so it matched the rest o f the photo. ![]() Our original actor who had been chosen to be in our short had prior engagements so we had to find another person to act. Luckily we were able to cast Tilly Compton-Stewart, she is a teenaged girl and has a similar appearance to our original actor- Celeste Denyer. Since it's a horror we decided to keep dialog to a minimum as sometimes it can spoil the mood if it's not appropriate or a slightly different tone to the rest of the scenes. Also not having any dialog leaves the audience to project their own expectations of the character so that they can emphasise with Rose more. We've scheduled to shoot our short on the 30th of november and the 2nd of november. Our film is set during evening/night time so we need it to be dark, luckily sunset is at around 4pm so we can film some time after this so that we get the low key lighting and darkness which is a common convention in horror films.
Preparations
This is a rough outline of the storyline and some of the key shots and framing of said shots that we'll aim to adhere to. Some of the scenes can be mixed about, when editing, depending on how it looks when we film. And some of the shots will be changed when filming as well since we may find that something else looks better or the lighting isn't sufficient.
The Frozen Ground Soundtrack - non-diegetic music used in the film. It adheres to the typical conventions of horror themed music. It's eerie and builds anticipation. Some clips have a quicker beat than the others to keep scenes going and to keep the audience engaged. This film has a linear narrative meaning that everything happens in chronological order.
'Published on May 16, 2015"The Invitation" tells of the uneasily humorous account of a notorious predator, who menacingly preys upon the vulnerable, using a dinner invite as their lure.'
Editing: The editing was really well done, the viewer easily assumes that the man is the murderer that the radio broadcaster is talking about at the beginning of the film. We see him being a creepy old man in the park by showing him staring at girls and cutting to shots of girls walking past and their reactions. The quick cuts of the two getting into the car start to hint at the girl being the murderer but we still don't have any doubt about the character of the man as we see him smirking to himself. The cuts made while they're having their conversation are interesting and show the charters reactions.
Alison Bechdel came up with the test in a comic released in 1985 about two women discussing what films they'll see at the cinema.
http://bechdeltest.com is a regularly updated, user-edited website with database of films which do and don't pass the test. We would like to pass the test in our piece, however because it's a short film we won't have many characters and the results on whether we pass or not may be ambiguous because of the nature of our film. There will be more of a focus on the dilemma in the story rather than the development of characters that would be included in a feature length film.
The general definition of a short film is 40 minutes of less of footage and credits. As a group we're going to aim for a benchmark of 5 minutes worth of footage. ![]()
We wont be able to include all of these codes & conventions and may choose to go against some of them when we're planning our own piece. Things such as setting and sound we will be able to adhere to and would like to as we believe them to be key in making our film effective.
From this interview we found that what our audience finds most frightening about the Horror/Psychological genre is when the storyline is close to real life, because it makes the audience believe that it could happen in everyday life. This is scary for them because it means it could happen to them personally; which puts them closer to the story and has them thinking about how they'd react and deal with what's happening in the film. The scare factor also comes from the audience seeing how their normal environment is utilized by the film-makers to become a torment where a murderer could be lurking in their attic, etc.
This interview was helpful in identifying what our audience doesn't like: anti-climaxes and nonsensical storylines. However we found that chase scenes are effective in putting the audience on the edge of their seat. Appropriate diegetic sounds and a tense soundtrack is effective in building anticipation, suspense and bringing the story together. To educate ourselves fully on the technique used to create the male gaze, we decided to try experiment creating an example of our own. The camera zooms in on the lady's body so she fills the screen, panning upwards slowly from her feet in order to slowly reveal her body and present her as an object of lust. We see her body in parts (as objects) rather than her as a whole person, therefore objectifying her, based on her outward appearance.
Sometimes the objectification of women still takes place despite the fact it has nothing to do with the product being sold. Above we see Nicole Scherzinger advertising yoghurt by flirting with it and making sex noises. "If you have to use sexism to sell your products then your product isn't good enough" In order to try defy the male gaze theory, we decided to experiment using the same technique used to create a typical male gaze shot however try make the woman appear powerful rather than an object of lust and desire. We did so through the use of her stance, facial expression and the choice of music. |
AuthorsMolly Broad Archives
February 2016
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