Our film schedule

This film schedule contains a plan of when and how we are going to shoot our film. We have planned out 3 days in which we will film. On each day we have written down what scenes we will be filming, what happens in those scenes, what characters we will need, the location, how long it will take and what props and costume we will need. This will help us organise where, when and what we will be doing for our film. It also gives a target to achieve, and once that target is complete, we can start editing our opening sequence.
Now that we have finished filming our opening sequence and are currently editing it. We realised that we didn't follow the film schedule completely. Because we changed and added a few extra things to our film, so we needed to have an extra filming session.

Our storyboard

This is our storyboard. We have drawn 20 shots and underneath each one we have wrote what type of shot it is, what will happen in it and how long it will be. We used this storyboard to help us during the process of filming, it gave us something to follow and therefore helped us to get the perfect shots that we needed.
Now that we have finished filming our opening sequence and are currently editing it. We realised that there are a few extra shots that we have added to our film and a few that we have changed. We did this because we felt that it would be more interesting for the audience than what we had previously planned to do.

Location shots

The first two pictures are where we filmed our first few shots. A scene where two of our characters are getting in to their car together and driving off. We chose this location because we wanted to make it feel like a normal and realistic setting, this a contrast between our following three pictures where the next part of our opening sequence was filmed. We chose this location because we think that it looks eerie and suits the genre of our film, also because it is a quiet area which made it easier for us to shoot without many interuptions. The next shot of the tree is where positioned our dead girl for quite a few shots in our opening sequence.

Our influences

In lesson we have watched a number of opening sequences to help us gather inspiration for the opening of our film. One of the most influential openings we watched was "Eden Lake", as it was a horror themed film and featured the flashbacks/flashforwards that we used in our production. It also included a shot in a car, which is also something that we used in our film. Another opening that we watch was "The Last House On The Left". This helped us in deciding what location to choose and how a horror film builds tension. It was useful because "The Last House On The Left" is also part of the horror genre so it gave us an overall idea of how a horror film should look and feel. The location in "The Last House On The Left" influenced us because part of it was filmed in a dark and eerie forest, we liked the effect that this created therefore we chose a similar location.
In one of our shots during our opening sequence, we filmed a shot of a dead girl on the side of the road. We had her sitting up against a tree with blood on her, we hope that this would give a large effect on the audience. We got this idea from a 'Think!' advert, it's an advert for speeding. It shows a girl laying up against a tree who got hit by a car because someone was driving over the speed limit of 30mph.

Test for car shots

In our opening sequence we have filmed some shots inside of a car. We used some lesson time to practice some of these different shots that we wanted to use to see how effective they are. We feel that the shot from the front showing both the driver and the passengers faces we may need to improve as it does not include much of the car in the background and does not really set the scene well.
The shot from behind taken by someone sitting in the back seat of the car is an effective shot as it shows the driver's eyes in the rear view mirror which ultimately means we can see their reaction as she sees the body. Although at times the camera was shaky in this shot, during filming we used a tripod to ensure that this does not happen again and we were on a smoother surface.
Now that we have finished filming our opening sequence. We decided not to film any shots inside the car from the front because we felt that it would look more suspicious to film it all from the back of the car. And also this showed the audience the road ahead and made them feel like they are in the car.

Our target audience

Our horror film is aimed at teenagers and young adults, this is for a few specific reasons. As the two main characters in our film are a young couple, we thought that then the teenagers watching the film could relate to them, this could make them feel more involved and keep them watching. Also the horror genre is very popular amongst this age group, they generally like a film that could scare them and that has a twist to it. We decided not to aim our film at an adult audience because it may not get as much attention as it could do being aimed at teenagers. Some adults may find the plot and the characters uninteresting as they can't relate to it and as it has noone in their age group in it. And also teenagers tend to have more time on their hands to go and watch the film where as some adults may not.

Summary of our film

Maddie, Chloe and I have chosen to do a horror film for our project. Our film is about a series of murders that keep occuring in London. And a young couple are driving along together and see one of the victims lying on the side of the road. They immediately stop to see whats going on. They look really shocked by what they are seeing as they know who the girl is. Throughout the film they are trying to work out who murdered her and why. But theres always a twist in a horror film, all along the killer was right under her nose...

The opening sequence that we are going to shoot is the part where the young couple are driving down the road and they see the dead body and realise that they know who it is who's been murdered. And then it cuts to '4 weeks earlier', where the young couple are at home watching the news.

With help, we came up with the name for our film: 'Road Kill'.

Analysis of 'Office Space'

The beginning of most films usually start with the company credits, then the title credits, and then the opening sequence where the main characters are introduced. The opening sequence is very important as it has to keep the audience watching and keep them entertained. The credits are also very important because many people will only go and see a film based on who made it or who’s in it and not what it’s about.

‘Office Space’ opens with the company credits of Twentieth Century Fox. As Twentieth Century Fox is a very large company, its credits are recognized. It uses a giant sculpture type image with the words “20^th Century Fox” written in gold, this makes it stand out that they are a big, popular and well known company. In addition to the writing, it uses spot lights shining all around it and the city and the sky as a background. As these company credits are being shown there is loud music playing, it’s a drum roll to introduce them, along with the writing. This entire credit put together states their importance in the Media world and shows the audience who made the film. This lasts for approximately 18s. During that time it gets the audience ready and prepares them for the opening of the film. Whereas some other smaller companies, for example: Working Title, do not have such big company credits, because they are not as well known.

After the introduction of Twentieth Century Fox, the title credits were shown. They used bubbly writing and in a bright blue colour, this shows that the film is a comedy and quite easy going. They also had happy and funny music playing in the background, which added to the comedy feel for the audience. Whereas other films such as “Saw”, may use creepy writing in a dark colour, with scary music playing in the background, this clearly states the horror genre for the audience.

During the title credits a man is being introduced, the audience can sense that he may be a main character in the film because he appeared first on screen and is being focused on a lot. This opening of him is important as it shows the audience what the main characters personality is like and what sort of role he plays in the film.

Overall the opening sequence is probably the most important element of a film. Without a good opening sequence to keep the audience satisfied, the film may lose some viewers and not succeed as well as it could have.

Media Studies Brief

The set brief for our Video project is to create the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. This blog will document the pre-production, production and evaluation stages of this project.