Location: Pictures

Location is a key part for any film. Like in The Shining (1980) we wanted to film somewhere which was pretty, but also creepy and sininster. Accessability was also a must have because we would have to get there using public transport and carry all our equipment with us. I live in Perry Woods and this seemed like a great place to film for many reasons:

• It was familiar to me, so we wouldnt get lost
• It was easy to get to and not to big to we could easily carrying our equipment to each location
• Woods are common in horror/thriller films and create a sinister atmosphere
• It is usuallly pretty empty so we wouldn't be interupted

After I filled out the Location Recce, I went into the woods to take pictures of several locations so I could disscuss them with my group.

                                   

This photo is of a part of Perry Woods, as soon as we worked out our script idea I knew that this was the place that we would use in the last shot, where the girl is killed. When we filmed it, the lighting was darker and added to the sinister effect we were looking for.

This picture is of a tunnel of trees which we used when we filming the girl being chased by the stalker, he is seen hiding in the woodland to the left. I find that this piece of woods is quite claustraphobic and adds to the tension in the shot by making the girl seem almost trapped.

This is the location we used when filming the girl running away from the stalker, she runs up this hill and then trips up at the top. We used this nlocation because it was actually hard to run up, which made our shot look realistic.



This picture is of a location that unfortunatly we weren't able to film because we were loosing light and had to get home, but we initially thought this would be a good location because the gate is old and out of place which makes the location seem scary.

Film Title Sequences: The Shining (1980)

The last title sequence I watched was The Shining (1980), which was directed by Stanley Kubrick This was different to the other sequences because it established a setting for the rest of the film, but because the title sequence shows such beautiful landscapes it contrasts the horror of the rest of the film. Also, the music is scary, but in a low-key kind of way, it's unsettling and tells us that something is not quite right. After watching this clip, me and my group have decided to create our title sequence in real life instead of animating it, and the credits will be simple, to keep the attention on whats happening in the background, here is The Shing title sequence:

The Shining Title Sequence

Film Title Sequences: Silent Hill (2006)

I also decided to watch the title sequence for Silent Hill ( 2006) the titles were created by Kook Ewo and directed by Christope Gans. In this sequence a subjective camera moves around a creepy looking house, passes weird creatures that must appear in the film, and focuses on torn, old looking pictures of the cast. The music isn't scary at all, it sounds like soft rock. It is filmed in black and white which adds to the dark theme of the film. I enjoyed this sequence, but it is still too complicated for our group to create, but the use of black and white is an option for our title sequence.

I couldn't find the title sequence for this film on YouTube, so here is a link to it on watchthetitles.com a site that has hundreds of clips of title sequences.
Silent Hill Title Sequence

Film Title Sequences: Seven (1995)

Another title sequence I looked at was Seven (1995), which was directed by Kyle Cooper. I liked this title sequence because it was very creepy, the picture was de-coloured, almost sepia and the editing was jumpy, which suited the music which was also creepy and fitted in with what was going on in the scene, to me these titles show that the film is going to be complex and a little creppy, more of a thriller then a horror.
Here is the link: Se7en Title Sequence

Film Title Sequences: The Final Destination(2009)

Our brief was to create a title sequence for a film. My group chose the horror/ thriller genre, to get some ideas for our films, we researched title sequences from films of our chosen genre.

The first title sequence I watched was The Final Destination(2009). These titles were created by the animation company PIC. The titles feature an x-ray effect which shows some very creative methods of killing people, which clearly shows that this film is a horror instead of a thriller, for me, I found the titles a little too suggestive, instead of focusing on the plot the audience can guess that this film revolves around the murder, blood and gore instead of a complex plot. Although this title sequence is good, there would be no way of recreating these kinds of graphics for our title sequence.

Here is a link to the title sequence:


Final Destination Title Sequence

Pre-production paperwork: Media Shooting Script

We also had to complete a Media Shooting Script  which told us each shot we had to film and in what order, this gave us focus and keep us on time

MEDIA SHOOTING SCRIPT

Media Shooting Script		Name: NOVEMBER 13TH
Group: Jo, Ella and Catriona		Project: Title sequence production
Shot No.	Description of Shot:		Location:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14	Girl emerges from woodland, she looks confused and is reading a map The girl comes to a fork in the road and looks unsure From the girls perspective we see a shadow of a man in the under growth The girl runs off, and the camera follows her(the stalkers perspective) The girl runs up a hill, and stops, gasping for air Close up of girls face We see the girl running and she trips and falls, she gets up and the camera follows her The girl believes she has lost the stalker and slows down as she quickly walks through some green shrubs The girl looks behind her and begins to run We see the girl from the stalker’s perspective, she is walking into a pine forest The camera follows the girl into the forest, she trips and falls We see the stalkers feet walk towards the girl The camera is above the girl and see is begging the stalker to leave The girl screams and the camera pans upwards		Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods Perry Woods

Pre-production paperwork: Location Recce

Another important part of pre-production is finding a suitable location, we used a Location Recce to do this, it was useful because it allowed us to see the problems we may have at each location, I will post more about our location in the next few days

CANTERBURY COLLEGE MEDIA DEPARTMENT

LOCATION RECCE SHEET

1. For each location, identify and list the possible problems.

2. Then write down requirements under each heading.

3. List the actions you will take to control and reduce the location problems identified.

Activity at each Location.	Lighting Required? Position of sun? Clearance for shooting agreed with owners? Is there power available? Has access been agreed? Do the police/local council need to be informed?	Audio problems, such as traffic noise or planes frequently flying over?	Action taken to overcome each problem.
Location: Perry Woods	Lighting required: No Position of sun: High, Midday Clearance: Yes Power: N/A, not needed Access: Yes Police: No	Audio problems: occasional walker	Action: Signs surrounding the current filming area, although we didn’t have any disturbances during filming
Signed:	Print Name:		Date:

Pre-production paperwork: Risk Assessment

Before we started filming we had to fill in a Risk Assessment which makes sure that everyone is aware of the possible risks and how we can overcome them

RISK ASSESSMENT SHEET

1. For the activity, identify and list the possible hazards.

2. Then rate the level of risk – 1 being the least risk and 9 the greatest.

3. List the actions you will take to control and reduce the risks identified.

Activity	Hazards	Actions/Controls	Level of Risk
Walking to and from locations Carrying equipment Filming	Tripping Falling into potholes Scratched by brambles Falling Spraining shoulders Spraining arms Hurting back - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Sensible shoes Caution Choosing clear routes Caution Sharing the load Carrying/ lifting correctly Only carry equipment for a short time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	LOW LOW NONE
Signed:	Print Name:	Date:

Pre-production paperwork: Call Sheet

Before we could start filming we had to complete some paperwork which documented our research and pre-production further, firstly we created a Call Sheet:

CALL SHEET

Production Title: November 13th		Production Group: Jo, Ella, Catriona
Day:27th	Month: November		Year: 2011
Shoot Start Time: 11:00 am		Wrap Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Perry Woods Address: N/A Contact Name/Tel No: N/A

Name/Artiste	Character	Call Time	Contact No
Lara Gavin	Girl	10:30 am	07927412953
Simon Birtles	Stalker	10:30	01227752199

Name	Production Role	Call Time	Contact No
Ella Yesilirmak	Producer	10:30 am	07714286195
Joanna Terry	Director	9:30 am	07712690608
Joanna Terry	Camera	9:30 am	07712690608
Catriona Lyons	Sound	10:30 am	07970311040
Ella Yesilirmak	Design	10:30 am	07714286195
Catriona Lyons	Health+Safety	10:30 am	07970311040

Organisation	Address/Contact Name	Contact Number
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

A call sheet documents vital infomation about the cast and crew, which contains contact details, locations and times to keep everyone organised

Costume/Props

Costume plays and important part in any film because it allows the audience to become completely involved in the world that the film creates. Here is the outfit we created for our main character:

Our character wears a blue quilted jacket like this one, which will be familiar to the audience because they have recently became fashionable, even though they are traditionally farmer's jackets. It waterproof which shows us our character thinks ahead and knew that she would be in the woods for a while.

We also decided to put our female character in jeans, a sensible choice for walking, and common, because we wanted to make sure she wouldn't look out of place walking in the woods.

We chose pink, argyle patterned wellies for our character, we felt that walking boots would be uncommon amongst most teenage girls, so wellies were an obvious choice. The colour and pattern are childish and reiterate the fact that she is young and innocent.

Our character is wearing a green rucksack similar to this one which shows she is either

• going somewhere, like a friends house
• she is running away
• going for a walk and has bought spare clothes, food, water etc

For the opening title sequence not many props are used because we want to keep the audience intrigued about why the girl is in the woods, where is going, etc.

This is a map similar to the one our character is using, this shows us that she has a destination, somewhere that she is not familiar with or has not been before, this makes us question further where she is going and why.