Finished

We have now finished the coursework! It took a while but we got it done. DVD burned and handed up!

Youtube Upload

I am in the middle of uploading our final piece, Signing Off along with our Evaluation and Bloopers to YouTube. This should be done in about 40 minutes. Ryan is working on burning our videos to a DVD and this should be finished today or tomorrow at the latest.

DVD Update

Ryan is working on creating a blooper reel (who knows why) and when this is done we will be ready to burn everything to a DVD

Evaluation complete

I've finished editing the evaluation, and it's worked out to be 12 minutes long. Ryan has created a new title for the piece on Final Cut as well which looks MUCH better than the default titling sequences that iMovie offers. With all of this, our piece is finished. All that has to be done now is burning all of this to a DVD.

Titles Update

We couldn't figure out the titling software so we resorted to using Final Cut Pro. The titles available here were high quality and easy to implement which made them ideal for us to use. We are now working on importing our piece and evaluation onto a DVD. We hope to finish this, with Paddy's help when he has free periods, by the end of the week.

Film Studios List

New Line Cinema

Lions Gate Entertainment

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Universal Studios

Warner Bros. Pictures

Evaluation Update

We have finished filming our evaluation and we just need to edit it, adding clips and removing mistakes we made. Ryan took the camera with him to film added information for the evaluation (strengths and weaknesses of our piece) as we ran out of time when we were trying to get it filmed. Overall we only needed to film for about an hour, relatively little compared to how long the actual piece did.

Evaluation First Draft

1.       Our media product uses the tried and tested methods of creating atmosphere such as a dark setting for the pieces that build up suspense or a long shot to show isolation. I think that we challenged the conventions of media products by filming using two cameras, one that the characters are obviously aware of as they are filming using it. We referred to this as the amateur camera. The second camera was the conventional film camera that the characters are unaware of. We used this to get in the shots that the amateur camera couldn't feasibly do. We referred to this as the pro camera.

2.       Our media product represents only one social group as all of the characters are members of the group; Caucasian w/c. They are however part of an adolescent subculture. We represented this group as friendly but always aggravating their friends. We also represented them as slightly rebellious, out wandering the streets at night.

3.       We feel that the best media institution to distribute our product would be the social network YouTube as it is only around five minutes long and YouTube would allow us to distribute to a large amount of people, free for both parties, and potentially reach more members of our target demographic, which is people between the ages of 15 and 30 who enjoy horror/suspense films.

4.       We showed whoever we could during our free periods, posted the video on Facebook and YouTube. We received mostly favourable feedback with some constructive criticism from a few people, mostly those who also do Media Studies or Moving Image Arts.

5.       We have learnt a great deal more about software than hardware though we did all learn how to efficiently operate two cameras at once and a tripod. The software though was a different story. We were using iMovie for the majority of the editing, but we used Final Cut X to include the viewfinder effect in the amateur camera shots. We also tried to experiment with GarageBand to come up with a song that would fit our piece. I made an energetic piece that was unfortunately too long to include though it fit the tone of the piece quite well.

6.       The preliminary piece was of a much lower standard than our finished product. We weren’t sure what we were doing. It was definitely a learning experience. We learned that even when finished filming to hold off on the haircuts for a week or so in case you need to re-film a scene! We also learned how best to get certain angles and how to look out for possible continuity errors. We learned to be mindful of the setting and whether other people are going to use it. We applied all of these lessons to the final piece and I think it shows.

Update

We have now completed the titling and are working on the evaluation which Conchur and I are scripting. We will film it within the next week and from only need to edit it to include clips from the piece to put on the DVD.

Another Update.

All that needs to be done at this point is the titling sequence, which is probably going to be the biggest challenge since ryan and I haven't the faintest idea on how to use the software. Ryan fiddled around with it last period and I've been doing the same this period, so we're slowly trying to get used to it. Once we learn how to use the software and finish our titling sequence, all that needs to be done is burning the piece on to a DVD.

Update

It's just been me today, and yesterday, both Conchur and Paddy are sick. I've been working on finishing editing the project. It's gone fairly well; I've included all sound effects and all I need to do now is add in the titles. It's been a long haul trying to finish this by myself but I'm nearly there. Ryan Cairns

Update on editing

We have nearly finished editing our suspense piece. We nearly lost a clip but luckily we had it backed up on memory stick. Now all we need to do is add music to the clips and trim any unneeded footage.

Update

All we have left to do is to film one last scene and then obviously edit that. Aside from that we are waiting on titling software to put some titles in over the opening. We know where we're going with this as Paddy knocked up a rough edit of it to give us an idea and we liked it.

Music used in final piece

Lone Harvest - Intro
Movement Proposition - Punch and chase scene
Medusa - Flashback
Nathan walking to Aaron's house - Feral Chase
(possibly) When Alex breaks through door - Mechanolith

Update

We have to have the film finished by Monday next week but we have yet to film our scenes at Aaron's house. Paddy had to cancel again as his brother was visiting for the weekend. We are hopefully filming tomorrow (Tuesday) and should be working on editing for the rest of the week.

Changes Made to Script

The script we wrote initially had to go through a couple of changes as when we tried to film it the way it was on the page, it didn't really make sense and we thought it would look better another way. The prime example of this was the scene where Alex infects Chris, in the script we had this on screen and very obvious but we found when filming that it, to be honest, it looked really stupid and we didn't really have anything to use for blood. In the end we decided to imply the attack rather than blatantly show it. There were some slight changes made to dialogue to make it sound more natural. The biggest change to dialogue was when we cut out Nathan talking to Chris with the amateur camera. We decided to edit around this as the speech was very obviously scripted and just didn't flow well with the rest of the project.

Location Jonathan's House

We needed to use a second house and we had already used Conchur's house. Paddy's house was unavailable for use at the time and mine would be difficult for the others to get to as its out in Crumlin.

Location Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park

The second location that is seen in our production is Lady Dixon. We used this as it was publicly available and we were all able to readily get there and we needed a foresty area with trees and this met that requirement.

Location Conchur's House

This is the first location seen in the film and it is Conchur's house. We used Conchur's house as one of our locations as it was easy for Paddy and obviously Conchur to get there. It wasn't too difficult for me to get there either and we needed to film the scene somewhere so this was a more than acceptable location.

Editing progress

Ryan has been doing the majority of the editing in the movie. However, Paddy is working on incorporating opening titles using iMovie although we are waiting on new software to make professional titles. I worked on deleting all the footage we didn't need for each scene i.e. mess ups. I also edited the scene where Ryan punches Paddy and transferred it via memory stick to Ryan's Mac for him to add music to.

Small update on project

We have decided to refilm one or two scenes in Lady Dixon as there a few shots we have in mind of the flashback scene. This means we will have to film twice before we have all the footage we need. Me, Conchur and Ryan are available for Friday and Sunday so we will need to ask Brendan and Jonathan if they are available. If they are, we should have all the footage we need by Monday.
Currently we are working on editing, mainly trying to find music to fit each scene. We also have the introduction finished apart from the credit text.

Update on progress

We finally finished our work at Lady Dixon with an overhead shot and a POV shot filmed by me, filling in for Brendan's character Chris. Ryan (Alex) also filmed a POV shot running at Brendan and this could make for a great scene with the right editting. Jonathan was unable to film so we couldn't film the remaining house scene. We hope to have this finished by Friday and that will wrap up our filming and leave us free to work on editing and perfecting our clips.

Title Examples

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/03/26/se7en/

Although this is not a horror movie it is a great movie for creating a suspenseful atmosphere and this is well shown in the opening title sequence. We are hoping to recreate this sense of atmosphere in the title of our movie using appropriate music.

Filming at Aarons house

We were unable to complete filming at Aaron's house due to Paddy not being there. We did get one line recorded of Luke (Jonathan). We may use this but it is more likely that we will just re-record it when the time comes due to the lack of effort needed and to improve on it based on the atmosphere leading up to this line.

Progress on Filming

Last Sunday we got every scene that was needed in Nathan's house so we won't need to go back there to film again. However we still need to finish one scene in Lady Dixon and in Aaron's house. This should be easy to do and should only take one more week.

Update

Today Conchur and I are working on editing and trying to come up with some sort of title sequence We want it to be eerie and creepy but it may be difficult to work out the details especially since we are down a man in that Paddy is not here.

Update

Ryan is working at editing the footage we recorded using the amateur camera by inserting a viewfinder to make the clip seem more realistic and more amateur.
Paddy is working on ideas for a title sequence as we feel this will be more atmospheric than simply jumping into the movie.
I am editing out footage that we can't use and (obviously) updating the blog.

Update on recent progress

We recently started filming with Ryan in the role of Alex, Paddy in the role of Nathan, Conchur in the role of Aaron and with two of our friends Jonathan and Brendan in the roles of Luke and Chris respectively. We made good progress while filming on Friday, getting through a good portion of the outdoor scenes. However, we could not finish these scenes when filming on Sunday as Paddy had previous commitments. We were however still able to film a bit without him.

Woman In Black Trailer

This trailer is intense and unsettling without being outright scary which is worse in its own way. This is the sort of effect we are aiming to recreate in our film.
We are considering using the sharp cut in music that is heard in the trailer to further unsettle the viewer and build anticipation.
A camera shot we would like to implement is the long shot shown that emphasises the isolation of the scene and the helplessness of the characters situation.

Character Roles

Ryan - Alex, the infected
Conchur - Aaron, friend whose house they visit
Paddy - Nathan, vlogger
Brendan - Chris, second infected
Jonathan - Luke, leader of the group

Update

I don't feel that i can act well enough to express the emotions Alex displays so Ryan is now Alex. Updated list of characters and their actors to follow.

Possible Songs

Evening Fall-Running away

Earth Prelude

Oppressive Gloom

Industrial Revolution-Waking up

Industrial Music Box-Running Away

Interloper- Flashback Chase

Medusa- Alex outside house (Pan around)

Rising Game- Credits (Finish)

Music cuts off suddenly- ...Chris?

Porch Swing Days - Slower- Paddy waking up?

Sapphire Isle- Waking up?

Truth of the Legend- chase

Rocket?
Agnus Dei X
Lone Harvest

Possible Titles

[Untitled]

Working Title

Code Black

A Walk in the Park

Like, Favourite, Subscribe

Signing Off

Script

Nathan's birthday.

Nathan- *ecstatically* A new camera! Thanks guys!

Luke- It's for your vlog.

Nathan- Do yous wannna go try it out? We can head over to Aaron's?

Luke- Sure sounds good.

Chris- Sure.

Alex- *reluctantly* Why not?

Nathan- Right hang on then, I'm away to get a jacket. We can meet up with Aaron on the way.

Nathan- Alright guys, got a new camera, so maybe i'll get a few more views. So this is me and my mates walking to Aaron's house. You lot haven't met my mates yet have yeh?

Nathan- Say hi to the camera!

Luke- Hi to the camera!

Nathan- *sarcastically* You're soooooo funny Luke.

Nathan- What about you Alex any witty comments?

Alex- I don't want to talk to it.

Nathan- Why not, it's just a camera?

Alex-*angry* I just don't, OK?

Nathan- Alright, calm down. Your turn Chris.

Chris- Oh no I'm not helping you! This is your show, if you don't want to star in it you shouldn't have started recording.

Alex- *angry* Turn it off! I don't want you recording me!

Nathan- *Laughing* What's wrong Alex? You Camera shy?

Luke- Come on Nate, just don't record him. It's his choice.

Nathan- Fine. Whatever. Spoil the craic, why dontcha Alex.

*Alex attacks Nathan. The camera falls to the ground in the commotion. Alex is pulled off Nathan by Chris*

Chris- What are you playing at Alex!

Luke- *Sarcastically* Great

Luke- Hey look at this

Aaron- Nate must have dropped it.

Luke-They still aren't answering their phones!

Aaron- Alex? Is that you?

Multiple voices- *Angry* What the hell!?, What are you doing, Alex!?, Get away from him!
Aaron- Get him off me!

Chris- Alex, I know you're here.

Chris- *choked breathing* What the hell's wrong with you, Alex? Let me go.

Aaron- You could've broken my neck Alex. *kicks Alex in the stomach*
Luke- Hey!
Nathan- ...Chris?


END

Shooting Script

Nathan's birthday.

*Medium shot, High angle of Nathan as he wakes up. He breathes out and smiles. Jump cut to Nathan as he is walking down the stairs. His friends are waiting at the bottom to surprise him. They have bought him a birthday present.*

*Wide shot, Nathan on the right, Alex, Chris and Luke on the left.*

Nathan- *ecstatically* A new camera! Thanks guys!

Luke- It's for your vlog.

Nathan- Do yous wannna go try it out? We can head over to Aaron's?

Luke- Sure sounds good.

Chris- Sure.

Alex- *reluctantly* Why not?

*Medium shot of Nathan*

Nathan- Right hang on then, I'm away to get a jacket. We can meet up with Aaron on the way.

*Jump cut, focus on Nathan, they are now in Lady Dixon, amateur camera which Nathan is holding. He is filming an episode for his vlog, *

Nathan- Alright guys, got a new camera, so maybe i'll get a few more views. So this is me and my mates walking to Aaron's house. You lot haven't met my mates yet have yeh?

*He turns the camera on Luke and Alex who are walking in front of him.*

Nathan- Say hi to the camera!

*Luke starts walking backwards*

Luke- Hi to the camera!

*Alex mostly ignores Nathan and continues walking*

Nathan- *sarcastically* You're soooooo funny Luke.

*Luke laughs and turns around again*

Nathan- What about you Alex any witty comments?

*Alex turns his head and speaks over his shoulder*

Alex- I don't want to talk to it.

Nathan- Why not, it's just a camera?

Alex-*angry* I just don't, OK?

*After this outburst, Alex can't seem to get his breath back. He breathes hard for the duration of the scene.*

Nathan- Alright, calm down. Your turn Chris.

*He turns around and faces Chris who has been walking behind them. Chris laughs and looks up*

Chris- Oh no I'm not helping you! This is your show, if you don't want to star in it you shouldn't have started recording.

*Cut, show video interference, white noise*

*Amateur camera, wide shot, zoom in on Alex*

Alex- *angry* Turn it off! I don't want you recording me!

Nathan- *Laughing* What's wrong Alex? You Camera shy?

Luke- Come on Nate, just don't record him. It's his choice.

Nathan- Fine. Whatever. Spoil the craic, why dontcha Alex.

*Alex attacks Nathan. The camera falls to the ground in the commotion. Alex is pulled off Nathan by Chris*

Chris- What are you playing at Alex!

*Alex pushes Chris off of him and runs away*

*Cut to pro cam, over the shoulder shot, following Alex as he runs*

*Cut back to the others, Nathan and Chris take off after *

Luke- *Sarcastically* Great

*Cut to Am cam, Chris is slightly in front off the camera which Nathan is carrying, Alex is ahead of both. The camera is quite shaky*

*Camera shake transition, cut back to Luke and Aaron. Luke is in front heading in the same direction that the others went.*

*Wipe right, long shot of the chase, Nathan is falling further behind and Chris is catching up to Alex. Alex tears ahead and runs into a group of trees with Chris just behind him, Nathan speeds up to try to catch them.

Cut to Luke and Aaron who are looking for the others, focus on camera in the forefront.

Cut to Am Cam which is on the ground, Luke sees it and begins to move toward it*

Luke- Hey look at this

*His hand covers the lens as he lifts it.

His hand moves away and we see a close up of his face.*

Aaron- Nate must have dropped it.

*Pro Cam, Cut to the inside of a house camera is facing a door in a wide shot. There is a knock at the door.

Quick fade out and then in and we see the main room of the house with Luke and Aaron sitting on opposite sides of the room.*

Luke-They still aren't answering their phones!

*Quick fade out fade in, back of head outside forefront, window, with Luke and Aaron in background.

Cut back inside the main room, Nathan moves up to the window. He knocks twice, screen flashes black with each knock. Luke and Aaron jump.

Cut to close up of Nathan through the window. He waves.

Cut to Luke showing Nathan showing Nathan the camera.

Fade to white then fade back in quickly, medium shot of Alex walking towards the camera, pan

round to the left of him until the camera is behind him, he is now walking towards the house.

Cut to a shot of Alex from the side, edit back and forth.

Cut to black screen, hold for a few seconds.

*Fade in to Am Cam.*
Aaron- Alex? Is that you?
*Alex runs and tackles Aaron to the floor*
Multiple voices- *Angry* What the hell!?, What are you doing, Alex!?, Get away from him!
Aaron- Get him off me!

*Cut to Am cam on the floor. Nathan and Luke run to help Aaron. Show Alex being pinned to the ground. Queue flashback*

*Blurred edges effect. Chris chasing Alex through the forest. Chris pauses to get his bearings after losing sight of Alex. POV shot of Alex sneaking around behind Chris.*
Chris- Alex, I know you're here.
*Twig breaks behind Chris. He spins around. Alex grabs him and pins him against a tree.*
Chris- *choked breathing* What the hell's wrong with you, Alex? Let me go. *Chris struggles and eventually bites Alex to get away. Chris falls to the ground breathing heavily as Alex lets go and begins to choke. Cut to overhead shot of Chris standing up. Pan down to show Chris' face. His mouth has blood on it. *Flash.

Cut. End Flashback*
*Nathan and Luke have pinned Alex. Aaron is standing over him, yelling.*
Aaron- You could've broken my neck Alex. *kicks Alex in the stomach*
Luke- Hey! *Luke is about to continue but hears the door opening. They all turn towards the door. Wide shot showing everyone in the room.*
Nathan- ...Chris?


END

Storyboard 4

Storyboard 3

Storyboard 2

Storyboard 1

Props

Fake Blood- Red Sauce? Soup?
Second Camera- Ryan has one

Gears of War 3 Trailer (Music)

The use of peaceful music in a chaotic scene, in this case a war zone, is something that I definitely want to replicate in our piece, most likely in the scene of Alex hitting Nathan and during the following chase.

Update

Charlie is no longer a part of the film

Costumes

Paddy/Nathan- red t-shirt/hoodie
Luke/Ryan- Blue brand shirt w/ fleece
Alex/Conchur- Dark jeans  and shirt
Aaron/Jonathan- Bright clothes
Chris/?- Tracksuits

Chronicle Trailer

There are a few things I like about the plot of this film. First of all, obviously, is the use of amateur footage from one of the friends making up the bulk of the film. Secondly, the theory that their new-found powers are like a muscle, getting stronger the more they use them. We would like to replicate this with our infected character, Alex. The longer that he is infected, the more it consumes him and his personality. The protagonist in this film, Andrew, has his powers become so strong that he begins to become introverted from his friends. As Alex becomes infected, he likes to appear before his old friends as if to taunt them, and also in surprise attacks. As he becomes consumed by the disease, he becomes introverted and his friends must hunt him down.

Update

More youtube trailers/analysis will follow courtesy of paddy.
Our script is nearly finished (hopefully will be finished by Friday) and Ryan will continue to work at that.
The majority of our film will occur in one of our houses while a small part will be filmed in Lady Dixon Park.

The Shining Trailer

I like this movie's appeal and it's originality, and also the idea of being trapped alone with loved ones and having a mental breakdown. We also want to imply this type of villain, he is more ill than infected. The idea of being far from home and outside your comfort zone is also interesting as this is what will happen in our clip, the cast will all be somewhat far from home with no one to help.

Characters - Revised

Alex-Quiet one, he becomes infected at some point in the film and begins to turn against his friends. Becomes more outspoken and aggressive as infection progresses. Wears dark coloured clothing, blend in to group
Nathan-Vlogger-Wears red shirt, symbolising danger, passive aggressive
Luke-The funny one, wears brand clothing, blue if possible, takes charge in group when Nathan chases Alex, keeps the peace when arguments break out
Aaron-the inquisitive one, nervous, hyperactive, target for some light hearted insults. Wears bright coloured clothing to highlight his nervous energy.
Chris- Alex's cousin, also wears darkish clothes though not as dark as Alex.
Charlie-wears only tracksuits

Character Design

Alex-Quiet one

Nathan-Vlogger-Wears red shirt, symbolising danger, passive agressive

Luke-The funny one,

Aaron-the inquisitive one

Recent Plot Change

After recently analysing the trailer for Diary of the Dead, we decided to change our plot somewhat. Where previously we stated that the video blogger would have a reasonable following on youtube, we decided that he would have a very small following for the amount of time that he has spent on this site. This provides him with a motive to create the footage for the film, as he sees the infection that overcomes his friend as interesting enough to cause him to gain more viewers on his video series if he decides to document the events. This also adds a selfish characteristic to him, as he values his internet following over his friends privacy. We have also decided upon a name for the film, Working Title. We decided upon this as the video blogger had no name for the series before he was killed.
EDIT* Nathan will chase Alex, not Luke

Paranormal Activity 3

This trailer is composed entirely of amateur footage which makes it interesting to us. The use of parallel editing between the scary and worrying scenes and the happy times of his daughters playing is an interesting concept.

Welcome to the Jungle

This trailer has an interesting flow to the conversation that we want to replicate for our piece as they have a natural bantering feeling about them.

Diary of the Dead

This trailer gave me an idea for a change in our plot. Instead of our protagonist, "the blogger," having a reasonable following for his video blog, we decided that he would have a pitiful following despite his time and dedication to this hobby. We will post more details of this plot change in a separate entry to the blog.

I Am Legend

This trailer for I Am Legend accurately represents what we would like our 'infected' to act like i.e. incapable of rational, human thoughts. Ruled by their instincts.

The Zombie Diaries

This is another found footage film that we think reflects the atmosphere that we want to create. We especially liked the way in some shots the camera is practically ignored and that it is almost luck that we get to see these scenes, giving them a kind of behind the scenes feel that we feel would work particularly well in conversation shots.

REC 2

This trailer (beginning at 0:30 in the video) is very interesting, mostly because of the choice of music. There is a certain amateur effect to the shots as the cameras are attached to the SWAT members helmets. The music however is significant as it completely contradicts this type of film, as the editors choose to use upbeat opera music when there are some horrific and terrifying events taking place in the trailer. This is interesting to us and could make our piece seem more original.

The Blair Witch Project

The trailer for the Blair Witch Project is interesting as we like the idea of using news reports in our trailer to set the scene. The method of using the person to cry into the camera that she is scared and also her display of emotion is something that we would like to replicate in our piece. We think this trailer is very effective.

The Haunting in Conneticut

Above all else, the use of sound in this trailer is significant. The use of calming music before "the catch" about the house is mentioned is calm and peaceful to create a sense of comfort, which the viewer will soon be taken out of. This then switches to very eerie music as the real estate agent mentions that the house has "a history." Then as they are sleeping, there is the sound of cheerful music coming from the tv, which results in the protagonist switching the tv off. This is then followed by a loud uncomforting noise to startle the viewer. All of these uses of sound are significant as they help to create a sense of comfort and then quickly yank them out of it which is exactly what our piece will try to do.