WELCOME MODERATOR

MARCUS COULING 1291

CLAREMONT FAN COURT SCHOOL 64680

Welcome moderator! I am Marcus Couling 1291 and I worked with Ollie Macnaughton 1243 and Freddie Howe 1210.
I hope you enjoy my blog, which contains my work on G321, the titles and openings of a thriller/horror film which I named "Lights Out!". My preliminary exercise follows immediately underneath. My evaluation questions are above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbqqKR9XO0U

LIGHTS OUT! THE FILM OPENING

HERE  Is a link to our film on YouTube.

LIGHTS OUT! EDITING THE KIDNAPPING SCENE

 In this scene we are presented with a flashback of the disappearance of the husband and in these scenes here, we took various shots of the husband being dragged away. However, we were slightly perplexed as to whether we should implement this scene into our film because we were worried that it would take the aurora of suspense away. We also were drawn to the idea of the audience using their initial thoughts of the disappearance of the missing husband and to paint themselves a picture of the disappearance. Despite this, we decided to film the scene anyway in case of any change.

 In the scenes presented here. We are shown the Boss using brute force against the husband. We also see a shot of his feet being dragged on the floor before the scene where he is tied up to a chair in an disclosed location. When we see the husband walking down the tunnel, we devised a "over the shoulder" shot to give a clear perspective of the husband who is about to be assaulted. We then have the boss played by me walk around the corner at the end of the tunnel. We were very cautious for this scene to look as realistic as possible. for the dragging scene, we wanted the close up of his feet because it created more suspense as the audience is oblivious to the location that the husband is being taken to.

Lastly, we shot the scene of the husband being confined to a chair and we went to a run down looking shed in the school woods. we decided to put a blindfold on him to make the kidnapping look intimidating and we filmed in the shed because it looks horrifying and it gave an enclosed edge to it.

LIGHTS OUT! THE EDITING

After the production of the film, we needed to wrap our heads around the editing process. For all of us this was a very time consuming process as we had to sit through all of the outtakes that we made and we had to decide amongst ourselves which bits of filming was best suited for each scene and we needed to decide which bits of filming were suitable and scenes which were not suitable. Looking back at one of our scenes, we made a flashback scene involving me and Tom Gladstone, the missing husband in our film, this consumed nearly 40% of our film and therefore we decided to edit this out because it was too long.

In the end we used two editing softwares. We used iMovie which is included with all MacBooks as one of my peers owns a MacBook. We also used Final Cut Pro which is a very professional editing software and we were all over this software as it was very good to use and caused lots of good effects in our film. In the end, Final Cut Pro had a lot more effects than iMovie but iMovie was very easy to access and contributed massively to our film editing. We also used iMovie for our preliminary exercise and it was of great use.

LIGHTS OUT!, STORYBOARD

During the intense preparations of making our film 'LIGHTS OUT!', I was responsible for making the storyboards of our film. These were the stepping stones to help us broaden our ideas and give ourselves a rough idea of what each individual scene was going to look like. I also added descriptions underneath each drawing talking about the Shot number, the shot type, the action in the scene and the location.

I also designed each scene chronologically which allowed us to critically assess each scene one at a time.

EVALUATION QUESTION 1

genre
narrative (character-events.)
film language

TWO PERSON SHOT
One of the more valuable aspects of the scene is that we observe the detective who is played by (Ollie Macnaughton) slouching over his desk whilst the wife enters the room in a abrupt manner. The two person shot suggests the juxtaposition of the characteristics between the two characters, the idea that the two characters contain two different personalities with contrasting effect, which also signifies to the audience the idea of seriousness as opposed to a more lacklustre approach to a serious matter. We also visualise the dominant actions of the wife which creates a powerful aura which startles the detective. To me, this suggests the unbalance of authority.

MISE-EN-SCENE
In a political thriller, authenticity of mise-en-scene is key in creating verisimilitude. Our set containing the typewriter is very authentic because it suits the disposition perfectly of a typical 1950's genre. its appearance alone would inevitably draw the viewer's eye and stands out from the other props.

OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT
Key elements in the flashback sequence, the camerawork and Mise-en-scene signals the importance for each shot taken and the narrative through visuals. We are introduced by the husband portrayed by (Tom Gladstone) and I play the government boss who viciously provokes the husband. the over the shoulder shot illustrates an inevitable occurrence that is going to take place. the angle of the shot portrays suspense and judging by the body language of the husband, this illustrates that something is lurking afoot. We then sink our teeth into the violent sequence where the government boss uses dominant force to startle the husband by which the husband is physically dominated. the close up shot and tracking shot of the husband's feet being dragged across the pathway connotes suspense as the audience is met with a opaque background and questions the audience as to what will happen next. this shot without using speech of sound effects develops the theme of suspense and tension.

FRAMING SHOT
The next scene is a framing shot of Tom being confined to a chair in an abandoned warehouse. This is also a fixed shot and focuses all the attention on Tom who is positioned in the centre of the frame.

LIGHTS OUT! :MUSIC SUGGESTIONS

JAZZ MUSIC 

For our film we needed to consider what music would be best appropriate. As a group we decided together and we agreed almost instantly with the suggestion that we came up with. One suggestion that I came up with was that I really liked the music from the video game BIOSHOCK. Primarily because that the game is set in the 1960's and is a horror/thriller. I also found that when playing the game the music striked fear in me and I thought that this is perfect for our film. However, I didn't want to completely take a piece of music from the game because we wanted to avoid copyright problems at all costs. As a group we came up with a song that we thought would fit perfectly with our film. One of the songs we chose was I don't want to set the world on fire by The Ink Spots. All of our group love this song and also suited perfectly with our film genre. We decided to choose this for our film opening as it has a general happy tone and it also has a old and eerie effect due to the year of production (1960's)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6vqPUM_FE

There was one suggestion that I made, (Sam Cooke), a change is gonna come. This was also another good suggestion, but as a group, we were drawn to the ink spots. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbO2_077ixs

The final suggestion that we made was Wonderful Wonderful by Johnny Mathis. This is the main theme for our film. The intro of this song has eerie whistling at the beginning of the song. We were going to use the song after the final scene once the fire is blown out. the whistling after this is used to create a scary atmosphere and increase that fear factor that we are looking for. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH0_XfxnXWI

As a group, I think that we have made some excellent song choices and I am looking forward for the end result of our film. This song along with I don't want to set the world on fire has a sense of irony to it with its upbeat nature. 

LIGHTS OUT!: FILMING THE OFFICE SCENE

This scene in our film 'Lights out' was the most valuable scene in our film, but at the same time was the most difficult scene to produce due to the fact that we had to set up the props which was time consuming. We had to also position everything accordingly to make the scene realistic and to also make the film look authentic. Whilst the scene was being filmed, I decided to take some photos and I did some filming to give a different perspective. Here are some photos of the office scene:

The following photos were taken on mobile as opposed to using the camera. We are very greattful for the technology given to us as I find the camera to be crystal clear whereas when using the mobile phone. the end results were plagued with faults due to grainy imagery.

The bonus aspect of our film is that our school looks very grand and old which fits perfectly with our film concept. I also found that when filming outside of the mansion, there were birds coying which to me elevated the fear factor within the film which is what we were trying to accomplish at the time and with this element added into the film, adds an extra element originally

Another very important thing for filming this scene was finding the right time and appropriate time to film. We liaised with our actress to find out when the most appropriate time to film, which was a bit of a stretch. However, we managed to find a suitable time for everybody. So a good schedule was required.

Another problem that we had to consider was the fact that we needed to remove certain objects in the room because they were too modern and we also had to position the camera away from the tennis court to avoid obstruction, the tennis court was in clear view, therefore it was vital that we postponed the camera where the tennis court was obscured from view.

After the amount of effort that we as a whole put into the film I learned a number of things. One of the main learning curves was to ensure the most suitable place to film and how to carefully move the camera in order to allow the audience to be drawn to the screen. Moreover, there were some challenges along the way, but we managed to tackle them and as a result our skills developed and gave us experience for future projects.

RESEARCH: CHARACTERS SYNOPSIS.

CHARACTERS:  
For our movie, the group decided who was best suited for each character. We decided that (Ollie Macnaughton) would play the main protagonist, I am playing the detective's boss and we have (Tom Gladstone) who is playing the missing husband. And Vicky Banham is playing the wife of Tom Gladstone's character. Here is a photo of me and Ollie Macnaughton posing.

We also discussed the attires that each person was going to wear. I thought that I should wear a long black trench coat because It gives the character a dominating presence. I also associate the colour black with darkness in terms of character qualities. The colour black of the trench coat symbolises his personal demeanour and the fact that i am also quite a solid build, would suit this disposition. My size also elicited this aurora of power and dominance.

With Ollie's character, as a group we thought that a simple suit would be efficient enough. We went for a simple dark blue suit with a tie and we also went for a hat. I think that with the hat as well as the suit and tie it gives Ollie that sharp detective look. 

As for Tom Gladstone, we also went for a simple suit and tie primarily because it was an easy option yet it looked effective and makes Tom look sharp and efficient. Also, The suits that Tom usually wears fit perfectly into the 1950's genre so it was not a problem. 

RESEARCH: ACTIVATING MY MOVIE TWITTER PROFILE.

I was set the task to create a Twitter page for my movie and I was also asked to upload a variety of different outtakes that we did and upload photographs of the various different props that our group will be using. or any excess photos what we may consider for the film. The link below will enable you to access our Twitter movie account.

https://twitter.com

I think it would also be useful if I portray the progress of my Twitter profile through several print screens.

I also made a personal Twitter account for my media studies film. I will put the link below of this text and on this account there is a lot more content than my movie account. I will need to quickly adjust this as I am trying to gear the audiences towards the movie blog than my personal blog as the movie blog is the main source of attraction for targeting audiences and promoting our film as impeccable as possible. Here is the link to my personal movie account.

https://twitter.com/Bigdaddymilkyy

I will also post the screenshots of my progress on this page in due course. On my personal Twitter account I have made very steady progress. At the moment I have been having technical difficulties loading up vital information and videos and photos on my personal Twitter account, but I will act swiftly to render the situation. On this account, I have uploaded a variety of pictures that I took of the props that we have this for the film and I also decided to tweet about the uniforms that we will be wearing for the movie. I was also staggered to find out that Filmmaker IFF managed to favourite one of my posts about the film. I was ecstatic when i found out about this. 

PROPS FOR MOVIE: NEWSPAPER PROPS AND ASHTRAY PROPS

PROPS FOR MOVIE: NEWSPAPER PROPS

I have been set the task to critically observe any reliable websites, In particular Amazon and eBay, to find suitable newspaper props for our film. On eBay I managed to find some pictures of newspapers which I think will be very well suited for our film and the era that it is set in. Here are some of the props that i found on eBay:

I found these photos in particular to be the most suitable because both newspapers are set near the time of our film period and I found that the pictures and the typo are all in black, which was the case with all newspapers in this time period. We also needed to consider whether the newspapers were published in America or the UK for the simple reason that when I think of detectives, i usually associate them with a American nationality.

The second picture that I screen shotted might be slightly controversial because there are props from the movie THE GOONIES. Although this film has nothing to do with detectives, the movie has the aurora of suspense and mystery which perfectly correlates to our film. The copper bone key and Spanish doubloon could be a valuable asset to our film, but it is crucial that I speak with my other peers about this before hand.


Moreover, I also did some research on Amazon.co.uk and found some other promising props. Here is what I found:

This to me is more promising, especially the Chicago movie prop for obvious reasons. however, as you can see, the price is very high so it would be logical not to invest time an effort with this movie prop.

I also found a carving from a newspaper cutting from 1956 on eBay. This may not be the best piece of material, but If I can get my hands on this newspaper carving, I will be able to experiment with this piece, Maybe we could use this prop to create suspense of impose fear amongst the audience and the detective in the most drastic way possible.

Again on eBay, I also found this vintage Chicago today newspaper, this to be looks very authentic and definitely suits the disposition of our movie intro. the style really captivates the 1960's-70's era fully and one prop that should be deeply considered. I will also liaise with my peers to see wether they agree with my suggestion and I am confident that my peers will completely agree with me.

On eBay I also found this prop and I feel this can be deeply considered too, even though the time period is well out of date, the style is still similar.

ASHTRAY PROPS:

I Have also been asked to consider suitable ashtrays for the office scene. This was also a fairly easy task as I found eBay in particular to be the most reliable source. Here are some ashtrays I found in particular to be very suitable: 

For me, I am not sure whether these ashtrays are particularly suitable, however I particularly like the style of the ashtrays. Considering they fit the character of a laid back, non-serious detective. I thought that these styles of ashtrays would perfectly match with the detectives personality.

These ashtrays also caught my eye. Although there is a dancing couple on the 3rd ashtray, It can be easily covered. I was intrigued to the shape of the ashtray and this could definitely be suitable for the movie. The red and amoeba ashtray were made in the 60's, although not the most attractive looking ashtrays. It could be a match.

This ashtray is also very intriguing, I feel that this ashtray will fit perfectly with the personality of the detective, but will discuss with the group members before considering.

TYPEWRITER: 

Here my teacher very kindly ordered a stunning 1950's style typewriter. 

RESEARCH: PRACTICE SHOOT

RESEARCH: PRACTICE SHOOT

HERE  on this link you will be able to see our first test shot on Youtube of myself and Ollie McNaughton walking down the steps. This was the test shot of the very first scene we will be putting together followed by three other test scenes below.  

FOR PRACTICE SHOOT TWO CLICK HERE

FOR PRACTICE SHOOT THREE CLICK HERE 

FOR PRACTICE SHOOT FOUR CLICK HERE

For our first scene we used a tripod to keep the camera stable. Whilst Me and Ollie walked down the mansion steps, the tripod was perfect for keeping the camera frame in focus whilst we used a tracking shot.  

 

The location was by the entrance of the mansion. This place was the best location for our opening sequence because the mansion upholds grander and tranquility. 

RESEARCH: PLANNING OUR VIEWER PROFILE/TARGET AUDIENCE

Today we are going to plan our viewer profile where I am going to model this on a professional practice. I am going to base my profile on how the NME creates their viewer profile of their target audience. I will follow the four key points:

• What films and TV programmes are your target audience watching now?
• What platforms do they watch programmes on?
• What social groups do they relate to?
• What issues might they be interested in?

FIRSTLY: MAKING MY FILM STAND OUT: 

I believe that my film stands out amongst other films because as a group we decided to do a film that no other group has done before and we feel that as a result of this, our film is unique from the other films and will get more attention for doing a project unlike the others. This is a screenshot of a clear insight on what our movie is about.

DISTRIBUTING MY FILM:  There are various ways I have thought of in regards to distributing my film. One of the strategies I used is Pinterest. I collected a variety of pictures and sources from the website and images from google of specific characters and in my own words explained to the viewer why I decided to use these images and how they will impact and enhance our film:

STEP ONE: FINDING OUT WHAT MY TARGET AUDIENCE WATCH NOW:  As our audience will be targeted for people aged 16 years and above, youth nowadays enjoy action packed films and also thrillers and many more genres of this nature. Many people nowadays are also drawn to comedies, one good example being "The Inbetweeners". Many people are very fond of the series as it revolves around teenage life and their activities involving extravagant humour. Our ideal target audience should be interested in horror films as well as thrillers. 

(GENDER: BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.)

Other social platforms that is followed by our target audience consist of YouTube videos, online games and Netflix. 

CLOTHING:  I did research on clothing websites that cater for the type of characters in my film. I came across "River Island" as they have a large volume of choice that suit my group we will be producing - below is a image of some examples found. 

STEP TWO: WHAT PLATFORMS PEOPLE WATCH PROGRAMMES ON: Most people nowadays watch TV and movies on their tablets then they watch on their TV screens. Also most people watch content on their tablets in their bedroom than their living room. People around the world are watching an average of 25 hours of TV programming and film content a week. TV viewing is up from 10 hours a week in 2011 to 19 hours this year. On average, tablet owners watch 6.7 hours of movies a week against the average of 5.5 hours of non-tablet users.  Also the living room nowadays is the centre of home entertainment and people take advantage of the ability to view whatever they want in many rooms throughout the home and even in unexpected places as 50% of broadcasters watch TV in their living room. Sweden numbers are 81%, UK numbers are 75% and Australia numbers are 68%.

As our audience will be targeted for people aged 16 years and above, youth nowadays enjoy action packed films and also thrillers and many more genres of this nature. Many people nowadays are also drawn into comedies, one good example being The Inbetweeners. Many people are very fond of the series because the main plot of the story is revolved around teenagers and mainly consists of extravagant humour. Ideally we would like our target audience to be interested in horror films as well as thriller films. 

GENDER: BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.

In people's leisure time, they would be able to find additional information on YouTube, playing video games surf the internet etc.

STEP THREE:  WHAT SOCIAL GROUPS DO THEY RELATE TO:

Most people nowadays watch TV and movies on their tablets then they watch on their TV screens. Also most people watch content on their tablets in their bedroom than their living room. People around the world are watching an average of 25 hours of TV programming and film content a week. TV viewing is up from 10 hours a week in 2011 to 19 hours this year. On average, tablet owners watch 6.7 hours of movies a week against the average of 5.5 hours of non-tablet users.  Also the living room nowadays is the centre of home entertainment and people take advantage of the ability to view whatever they want in many rooms throughout the home and even in unexpected places as 50% of broadcasters watch TV in their living room. Sweden numbers are 81%, UK numbers are 75% and Australia numbers are 68%.

STEP FOUR: WHAT ISSUES MIGHT THEY BE INTERESTED IN:  My target audience will be interested in Tv shows as well as movies. I think that the audience in terms of movies, would watch the likes of The Hunger Games Mockingly part 1 starring Leonardo DiCaprio and the films such as Gravity, The Hobbit, the Desolation of Smaug and Kingsman: the secret service. 

In terms of video games, the audience would be likely to play games such as Bioshock and Fallout, due to the fact they both are thriller/horror games and are set around the time our film is set. For clothes they would go to places such as Hollister and Jack Wills as both shops contain clothing of this era.

MY MAIN AUDIENCE MUST CAREFULLY BE CONSTRUCTED BY THE FOLLOWING:

• AGE
• ETHNICITY
• GENDER/GROUP
• REGION/NATIONALITY

CALL SHEET FOR SCENE WHERE WIFE HIRES DETECTIVE