Location Mise en scene

Location Mise en Scene

Unfortunately one of our planned locations for filming the flash back shots was not able for us to use.  We decided to find a different location so I thought that my garage would be a good location to use.  The garage is mainly dark colours and is messy and dirty, which fits with our supernatural horror genre.


The first video is showing the garage before I moved some of the objects that would not fit in with our film opening.  I took away the ladder, BBQ, bikes and plastic bags to create a better atmosphere for the opening.

The second video is the garage from the POV of the victim.  We plan to have her on a chair or sitting on the floor against the brown wall.  From her POV you will see the priest and some of the garage.  I feel that this location is suitable for the opening because it is bare and dirty which goes with the conventional horror location.  

Early Filming Plans

Using our storyboard, we looked at all the shots to see which could possibly be filmed together in order to organise a timetable. We have decided that it would be most suitable to film the shots over a period of around five days, though this may not necessarily be consecutively. 

• Day 1: Shots of the girl running/walking (Danson Park)

• Day 2: Alleyway shots

• Day 3: Church shots

• Day 4: Inside shots (candle/close up of cross)

• Day 5: Possessed shots

• Day 6/7: Shots which may need re-filming

We will need our main actor for a majority of these shots however we will only need our priest for only 3 or 2 of our shots. In terms of what days we actually plan to film, we have made a timetable of the next few weeks so that each person within the group could slot in the days which they are unavailable (working, visiting family etc)coinciding with our actors, so that it would be easier to organise when we meet up and film our first few shots. We have decided that this will be either our church shots or our Danson park shots as a large amount of our shots will be of our victim running in order to intensify the audiences suspense.

The Woods- Location Test

For one scene within our opening, we have decided to have the idea of a young girl running through a wooded area. I have tested this at both daylight and dusk, as night time would be far to dark and light sources would not work very well as it is not professional equipment, e.g high tech cameras or studio lights.

This is a young girl walking through the wooded area in daylight. It is not typical of a supernatural horror as it is not creepy or tense, and it also not the favourite of our target audience as we gathered from the survey.

This is a picture of the wooded area in daylight. Again it does not typically fit into the supernatural horror genre and does not provide much to lend to the frightening mood that is supposed to be created. Having said this, if we wait half an hour or so (half 3-4pm) the lighting will be dark enough for a spooky atmosphere but light enough to actually film.

This is a picture at around 7 pm. I feel that this is the perfect darkness for the scary effect we would like to create, however I would have to do some test shots at this time in the woods, as a lot of the light in this source is due to the screen lamps. If it is too dark to film at this time in the woods, then an hour or so earlier should provide enough light to capture what we want efficiently, whilst still looking creepy to link to our supernatural horror genre.

 I visited the place for our possible forest location at around half 4.45/5pm. Here is a picture of it without flash. As you can see it is far too dark, and due to the time of year (winter) it would be better to go earlier, as our filming will have more clarity due to more sufficient natural lighting.

Here is the same setting but with flash. The deep sunset adds an eerie feel that links to our supernatural horror genre, but due to lighting issues it would be better to do it when it is lighter, perhaps as soon as the sun begins to set.

This video was filmed with the flash on. As you can see the girl is easy to see at the very start, but she soon becomes almost invisible against the darkness. Again this suggests that despite the dark purple sky giving the desired effect, it is a much more sensible idea to film at an earlier time due to lack of lighting.

 

Evaluation:

• The lighter shots that we taken at around 3pm will be much better after half an hour or so
• Due to the time of year, the lighting changes dramatically very quickly so we must be efficient when filming
• The darkness shows up more on the camera, and so it must be done earlier than you would orginally think

Location Scouting: Churches

As we wanted to finalize our Church location, we decided that it would be useful to do another location scouting but this time, for it to be centered around finding a suitable Church location. 

As we were able to find an actual priest (based in Eltham) who would be willing to take part in our opening, we has the opportunity to film in his own Church however, I felt that the outside of the Church building looked too modern, and didn't give the mysterious and spooky element which we were looking for, therefore I decided to go to look for other nearby Churches which would give us the look we were going for.

St John Baptist-Eltham

Useful features: Not only did it seem to have back stains around the back sides of the Church which added the spooky elements, as well as a graveyard towards the back and front of the Church. As well as this, around the back was also quite bushy areas, therefore it would go well with our scenes of trying to make our victim look as though she is being followed as the bushy areas could be where the antagonist is watching her from.

Features which weren't as useful:  The Church is situated on a busy road which could create unwanted background noise. Also, there isn't much space to film around the Church as it has so many graves circling it (though this could be a benefit at the same time).

St John's-Sidcup

Useful features: Similarly this Church also has a graveyard which adds the scary atmosphere which we are trying to bring across. Also some areas of the Church has clear moss showing which further emphasizes this. In addition to this, the very tall building also helps to create this idea of a greater power when focusing on elements of possession. As well as this, there is quite a large size of an isolated and bushy area which again, is useful for our opening scene.

Features which were not as useful: There is little to dislike about this location as most of its elements give off a scary atmosphere. However, one area which doesn't help when creating this spooky atmosphere is the bright orange-like colour of the building. I would prefer if it had been a dark or gloomy colour such as grey (like previous Churches which I had seen). Also, the different shades make the building seem colourful which isn't what we want when looking for a spooky-like Church as it doesn't make it seem dark and gloomy.  

Christ Church-Sidcup

Useful Feature: Similarly, this Church also has dark and black stains over the building which helps to add spooky elements which would be suitable for our audience and genre. Also, the long windows and cross icon at the top of the building will help the audience to identify this building as a Church.

Features which were not as useful: Again, there is little empty space around the building. Also, unlike traditional Churches, the building does not have a distinct peak which may allow the audience to immediately identify it as a Church.

Bexley United Reform Church- Bexley

Useful Features:

• Common stone brick building
• Easily identifiable as a Church
• Traditional mosaic window designs
• Close to Eltham and Townley
• Reasonable amount of space to film

Not as useful features:

• On a busy road
• Small building
• Hardly any bushes/trees

The Parish Church of St. John Evangelist-Bexley

Of all the Churches which I visited, this would be the one which I liked the most for our opening scene as it seemed to have what the other buildings were lacking. For example, it had spooky atmosphere from its entrance to the colour of the building. 

Though it doesn't have as much as the previous Church, it still has some clear signs of moss which helps to add this mysterious elements, alongside its vast height and size. As well as this, I like how the front brick-gate was shaped pointing up, which could be seen to mimic barbed wire which would add a sinister element and make the Church seem more mysterious.

 As well as this, there is a wooden bench which is directly facing the Church, as a result, we could have our victim walking past the Church whilst the antagonist is watching her from the bench, therefore, it goes along with our  intended story. Furthermore, the area has a number of bushy area which also would be beneficial for our opening scene.

Initial Storyboard

 The following images are our initial storyboard which we based on a young girl walking home when she feels she is being watched so she decides to run. Throughout, she has flashbacks(with each flashback increasing in extremity) of an exorcism which she has witnessed .





     









As the victim will be under the impression that she is being followed, as well as using research from other opening scenes, we could film some of the shots behind tree branches, as the leaves in the frame will emphasize this impression of being watched/followed. This links in with the first flashback as it will be an over-the-shoulder shot of a priest watching as she walks away.

As from the survey, most of our target audience said that they found the location of a family home the most frightening,  we have tried to incorporate this into our opening as we have decided to end the opening with our victim reaching her home, which is also where the antagonist will be. As a lot of our audience also said that they found woody areas the most frightening, the majority of our opening will be based in woody as well as other isolated areas.

Also when there is a flashback of the victim being tied down to a chair/bed, a high angle shot will be taken of this to emphasize their vulnerability. As we want to leave our audience scared, due to the genre, we have decided to end our opening scene with the antagonist jumping in the camera with the camera zooming into their eye until the title appears.      

Furthermore the extreme close up shot of a religious cross symbol will be to emphasize the religious aspect of possession.

Location Scouting

Location Scouting

As we want to focus on bring the fear factor to our opening scene (in order to appeal to our target audience), I wanted to focus on locations where suspense is at it peak (for example, in a chase scene or when showing someone who is possessed).

Churches

the dark marks emphasize the old look.

As religion is commonly linked to supernatural films when showing possession, I looked at a few churches as this is one way in which we  religion could be incorporated into our opening. Though I liked the old look which this building had, its surroundings didn't appeal to one which would be suitable for horror as it is surrounded by a busy road.



 Another church which I looked at was All Saints' Church in Blackheath village, which was surrounded by a vast amount of open area which goes along with the isolated atmosphere which would want to be created in a horror. On the other hand, the building looked quite modern and didn't give a spooky ambiance as the other building had. I also tried to look for tall buildings as it adds to the sense of a higher power, which is the case in possessions.

Alleyways

I also decided to focus on alleyways/cul-de-sac's as these are seen as a cut-off-point in chase scenes and often add suspense as the victim ends up unknowingly running into these which commonly leads to them getting caught by the antagonist.
The following images are examples of the dead ends which I found. These give an isolated ambiance which would be suitable for our opening.



I prefer this alleyway of the two as it is not as wide and emphasizes the idea of being 'closed in on'. Also, there is nowhere for the victim to go (i.e. no wall to jump or climb from), which adds suspense as there would be nowhere for them to escape to.

Woods/Open Area 

From our questionnaire, our target audience said they found woody areas just as frightening as family homes therefore, I decided to look into these as when trying to create a isolated atmosphere as they consist of a vast amount of open area therefore adding to the supernatural sub genre. Firstly, I looked at the open area which is also near one of the churches which I looked at in Blackheath. Again, the secluded image is fit for the genre as well as adds suspense.

 As well as this, I looked at a wooded area in Jordan's Wood which also gives a secluded feel. I prefer this location as not many people come here at the same time, therefore when filming, it will be easier to give off this isolated atmosphere. Also,  as we have been looking at the idea of having a "stalker", we could play around with different angles and movements behind the many tree branches. Furthermore, because of the branches, unlike the large grass area, the victim cannot see anything, which would heighten the mysterious atmosphere of a stalker, as well as playing into the idea of going into the unknown. Furtheremore, we could create a silhouette of the branches using back lighting to add a dark atmosphere.

Evaluation

Pros

When looking for the different locations which could be used, I think that I found some effective ones. such as the old church building as it created a spooky feel, which is what we are trying to achieve.

Cons

On the other hand, as most of the group live in or around Bexley, I could have focused on locations which were specifically in this area, as when it comes to having to film, it will be more practical and convenient for the majority. I could have considered New Community Church as its building also had a similar dark grey colour which could also create a spooky atmosphere.

Location research

Supernatural horrors are often based in normal everyday houses. The filmmakers want it to be scary as you think you will be attacked by one of their demons as you live in a normal home.

This is the main location for sinister

This is the setting for drag me to hell:

This is where insidious is set:

Here are two normal homes witch we could possibly use.

Location Research 

A huge convention for a supernatural horror location is an old, traditional house.  The house is usually large and maybe disused. In the case of the woman in black, the house has no current inhabitants and is falling into disrepair.  The use of mainly grey and dark tones creates an eerie atmosphere and the sheer scale of a large, empty house is quite frightening to the viewer.  

 A main location which is used in supernatural horror is a normal, everyday location such as a family home.  This makes the film as realistic as possible as it relates to every single viewer.  The fear that this situation could happen to anyone brings the audience further into the film.  Other films which use this location are Sinister, Insidious etc.

For my own location research I went to an alley way behind my house.  I thought that this would be an appropriate location for a supernatural horror as it is an empty place where there is no one around, this is good for horror as being alone, without help of others is quite scary.  It is also quite enclosed so there is no here for the victim to run.  The garages are quite dirty and urban looking which ties in the horror genre.  I like the graffiti on the wall because it gives off the atmosphere of not a very nice area which comes in parallel of being a dangerous place to be.  I also took pictures of the same location when it got dark.  I prefer the location in the darkness as it is more spooky and appropriate for genre.

To evaluate I would say that a dark location would definitely be more genre appropriate but maybe a change of lighting throughout the opening would also be effective.  The gratified, dirty location would also be very effective and appropriate for genre as it creates a more creepy, dangerous atmosphere.