Evaluation Day 3

Filming Evaluation Day 3-29th Jan

We had to make several changes to our initial plan when discussing our filming plans for the exorcism scene.

Firstly, Alice's brother stepped in as a replacement for our priest as Paul was unable to film on this day. As a result of this, we also had to slightly change our costume for our priest character as we no longer had all the full priest outfit, therefore we opted for a plain dark suit alongside a white collar and rosary beads (which would still allow our audience to immediately identify our character as a priest).

Furthermore, we initially planned to film in an inside/room location (a spare room in Alice's house), however this had to be changed therefore we decided to film in Francesca's garage as we would still be able to create a sinister atmosphere and still have an element of isolation. This change in location also meant that we no longer had a chair or bed for our victim to lie in therefore we decided to have our victim on the floor as through high angled shots, we could still emphasise the vulnerability of her character.

On the day, we decided that it would best to meet straight after school. Francesca, Alice and I met at Francesca's house at around 3.30, whilst Rebecca went to pick up her sister and meet us. During this time, we were also waiting for Alice's brother. 

We began filming around 5:30, however, the daylighting wasn't an issue as we were shooting in inside anyway. After our victim and priest had been dressed and had their make up and props, we set up our set. Prior to this filming day, we had ensured to burn out some of the candles so that they looked worn out and were different sizes to emphasise the sinister-looking set which we wanted.

We laid out the candles in several ways for different shots. Whilst we were filming, we also decided to add any other additional shots which we felt would add to our supernatural and sinister setting. For example, we had the priest walk around the victim whilst she was circled with the candles. Also, we were able to draw a cross into the ground which we felt gave a twisted mix between our victims innocence with the religious incorporation of the supernatural genre. Whilst these were not part of our storyboard, we felt that these extra shots would improve our opening.

Evaluation

Positives:

• We were able to deal with problems (e.g.actors not being able to attend, location change).
• We were able to shoot a variety of different camera angles and lighting shots.

Negatives

• Battery running out-ensuring the camera was fully charged/battery wasn't wasted.
• Not being well familiar with our camera.
• We could have been more efficient-whilst our actors were getting ready, others could have been setting up or do lighting checks.
• We could have used more props to make our priest as easily identifiable to our audience as possible.
• We could have used more candles to highlight our sinister setting even more.

Walled In Deconstruction (2009)

Walled In Deconstruction

Costumes

The very beginning scene shows a little girl dressed in an animated night dress which highlights her innocence whilst causing the audience to instantly be sympathetic towards this character alongside a series of her scared facial expressions within harsh high key lighting and the high angle shot, which also highlights her vulnerability. 

In addition to this, the juxtaposition between Mary and Sam may cause the audience to be suspisious of Mary, who is initially portrayed as a "clean freak". She is well presented with her bright hair always being slicked neatly, her clothing is also neatly buttoned up, alongside minimal make up. She is also well presentation through her composed posture whilst talking to Mary. Her behaviour further causes suspision as she hints of a set of rules which Mary must get accustom to as well as not going to the top floor of the apartment, hinting that everything may not be as it seems.

Locations

The building has an eerie look through its gloomy grey colour, as well as the sheer size of the building, which brings across an isolated atmosphere. The building also doesn't look as though it is an apartment/hotel due to it's unwelcoming appearance. One reason for this is due to its desolated surroundings, which is juxtaposed with Mary's suburban home; its bright white colour alongside.  The power lines are in the shape of a cross which could be to symbolise death. Other icons within the opening is the image engraved in a wall, which mimics a sword; this could be to introduce a common theme within supernatural horror-violence.

Furniture

When Sam gets into her room, there is a further element of isolation as the room seems bare, which further adds to the audiences suspisions alongside the artificial lighting within the low key lighting in her apartment. Furthermore, within the room, there a few old, antique looking furniture. For example, centred in the room is a wooden rocking chair. The rooms are neatly kept which could be to further illustrate Mary's tendency to keep everything clean and well put. The glass cabinet could also be symbolic to Sam being forbidden to do what she wants due to the ghosts. Similarly, to the shelf and its objects, they are delicate (china doll) therefore they must be carefully handled.

Low Key Vs. High Key Lighting

At the very beginning of the opening, there are only scenes which have high key lighting, however after Mary's entrance into the building, generally, the scenes are of low key lighting. As well as this, after her entrance into the building, there are several mid and long shots with back lighting, which further adds suspense for the audience as a silhouette of an unidentified person is on screen. This is further emphasised when we see a sector of light as a silhouette walks across.

When Sam first enters, there is an instant juxtapositon as she stands in bright artificial lighting, whilst Mary stands behind the door in low key lighting, which further adds the audiences suspicions of Mary as the audience are left in the dark, which is symbolised by the pitch dark room which she initially comes from.

Realism

In the title scene, whilst the story is being set, there is an image of an "Official Coroner's Report", alongside pictures of former victims, which could be to make the film seem more believable, as it seems to add scientific facts. Furthermore, images of a newspaper article also adds realism to the film which may cause the audience to become cautious as well as more scared as the film goes on. Its creased and dark colour, alongside the serif font, all add to emphasise the sinister appearance as it makes the article seem quite old, which is necessary for the background story.

Lighting check

The purpose of this practical was to see how light it would be with the candles in the a room in which we are going to film in. We want to just use candles as they have religious connotations. 

First I tried putting all the candles together in one place which looked very effective close up. But as you can see in this picture, there is too much light concentrated in one area and it does not look very professional the camera was focusing on it and it just looks like a torch is shining there.

But as you can see in this picture there is too much light concentrated in one area which makes it look very unprofessional. It just looks like a blur of light which does not even light the room as much. 

After this I moved the candles so they were not just in one place. You can see the room better in this picture as there isn't just one source of light. This gives the room a glow which would look very good on camera. Some of the room is still in darkness which is good as we wouldn't want to make it look too light. These pictures were taken at 6pm so it is pitch black outside. 

Case 39 Deconstruction

Opening Deconstruction: Case 39

Mise en Scene (and Lighting):

The very first thing which the audience sees is the location of an townhouse situated in a wooded and isolated area, which is shown within the setting of low key lighting which immediately enforces the eerie atmosphere in supernatural horror films.

As well as this, the low key lighting throughout this first scene enables this mysterious atmosphere to be sustained.

 The dark clothing of the man and woman going up the stairs also adds mystery to the scene as both are wearing dark clothing (black shoes and grey or black trousers).

Furthermore, when the door is opened, the limited lighting is shun directly on the little girl which allows the audience to see the floral purple and white bed sheets as well as the floral pink nightdress which she is wearing which shows her portrayal as innocent whilst emphasising a common antagonist which the supernatural genre where an innocent girl is shown to contrast the audiences initial portrayal. As well as this, her innocents is also presented through the harsh top lighting of the girls face, framed within a mid shot, which makes her look angelic.

Camera Angles: 

After the establishing shot showing the sinister location of the house, the camera zooms in on the house whilst the lights which can be seen through the windows, begin to be turned off, highlighting the mysterious atmosphere.As well as this, there are several close up shots of a feet walking up the stairs as well as a close up shot of hands opening the door and a mans eye face looking at the little girl, which creates suspense as the audience are unaware as to why he is doing this.

Sound: 

Within the opening scene, the diegetic sound of dogs barking within the distance re-enforce the idea that the house is isolated. As well as this, the diegetic sound of creaking floorboards and doors also emphasises the sinister ambiance which is being created alongside the low key lighting.

 Furthermore, the non diegetic sounds in the first scene also emphasises this as the eerie and continual sounds of wind instruments adds suspense to the scene. Also, there are three different sounds which are being played on top of one another. Although all sounds are continual, they range in their pitches and instuments (for example, on has a deep drum sound whilst the other has incorperated strings).

The dialogue of "I can see you" also adds to the sinister opening as many of the audience may be aware of the well known phrase "I see dead people" from Sixth Sense (1999) which they may relate to this as they are so similarly phrased in order to reinforce the ghostly conventions within this genre.

LIghting experimentation

 

Initially I went to the woods at 3pm as it would be getting dark enough to experiment with the lighting but still light enough for the camera to pick up the images. I had some problems because the weather was overcast which meant that it was a lot brighter and the clouds got in the way of the darkness.

 I then decided to wait until it was properly dark to do the photos as you would not see the effects of the lighting. I wanted to do a strobe effect bit we did not have the right torch which had the stone light setting on it. Instead I used a range of torches which had different  settings on them and used them at various angle for a wide range of effects. In this image I used a large led light which gave a wash of light without being too precise around the edges.

 This was the same torch but at a lower angle.

This torch could either be a very powerful spotlight or can do a good wide illumination but it does have very precise edges which could be a drawback.

 This torch is a lot less powerful than the others and so it only slightly lights up the area which could be good for our film as you can still see the shadows. It can also

This is when it is at it's smallest setting but still has murky edges which is good.

Lighting Checks

Lighting Checks

Before we begin filming, we need to know what time of day we will be filming at at each location.  As sunset was at 3:50 on my practice day, I needed to film around this time as too much before would be too light and compromise the scary aspect and too much after would be too dark.

The first video is a clip of the church location we are using.  The time of this clip is 3:35pm, which I feel is an appropriate time for filming this section as there is still plenty of light for the audience to see the gothic aspects of the church and to see the priest clearly.  Although the lighting is not dark enough to give off a scary atmosphere, we can always use filters in the editing process to rectify this.

The second video is of the alley way we wish to use.  The time here was 3:45pm and is obviously a little bit darker than before.  This is appropriate because the alley way scene comes after the church scene.  Alley ways are also quite enclosed and eerie so the darker lighting is in parallel to that.



The final clip is of the woods location.  This was filmed at 4pm which may be a little late as the clip is very dark so not a lot of high quality film would be captured.  Although we wanted to use torches and strobe lighting to create  shadowy low-lighting so it would have to be dark for that to work effectively.

In conclusion I think that the time between 3:30pm and 4pm is the optimum time for our film opening.  The church scene may have to be filmed at a slightly later time than I have used and once we have experimented with the torches we can decide when the best time for the woods scene would be.

Low-Lighting Practical

Low-Lighting Practical

The main convention for lighting techniques used in supernatural horror films is low-lighting.  This is used to help create a creepy atmosphere.  Low-lighting can be used to cast shadows over objects and people, facial features are sometimes extenuated using low-lighting from an angle.  The fear of the unknown is used in the majority of supernatural horror, so the dark is used as an easy and effective way of scaring the audience.  Low-lighting from candle light or a single lamp light highlights specific features out of the dark and adds to the scary atmosphere. 

 Candle light is also a reference to religion as most Christian churches use candles as part of their services, so as a main part of our opening is religion based I thought I would experiment with some candle lighting for mise en scene and lighting effectiveness.

I think that the candle look quite effective but would be better with a lot more candles to create a creepier aura.  The large candles were more effective than the tall thin ones as the light looked better but the thin ones were more genre appropriate as they relate to old style candle light.