Applying The Font

Applying the font to our content was a little more complicated than expected because it was not one of the default ones that iMovie provided, it was downloaded from an external website. So we had to research how to do it from YouTube. This clip assisted us by talking through how to put our font onto the iMovie software.

This is how the fonts looked once we applied it to our opening:

[insert picture here]

Font For Titles

When making the titles we wanted to continue with the theme of the opening with the unsettling mental asylum and the unstable patient. In order to achieve this we decided to use a unconventional font that reflected that of a child's handwriting; something messy but still legible. The website: 'http://www.dafont.com' was extremely helpful when it came to finding the perfect font, it had a massive range of of fonts that fit our theme. After looking through many different options, we decided that this font by Michelle Pha would be suitable as it was fairly subtle so it did not take the limelight away from the opening but it still looked rough enough to reflect the patients disorganised mindset. 

Our Camera

We filmed our project on a Panasonic SD90. The camera quality was average, we were able to have a clear image who filming however, the picture was not high definition once uploaded onto iMovie. Also the battery life was not very reliable as we could not see the percentage of battery life, this meant that the battery often died whilst filming which prolonged the process. The overall experience with this camera was mediocre because I was able to operate it but if I had the option to film with a different one I probable would.

Our Production Company

In order to present our opening professionally we decided to add a production company to the beginning. The idea was to remake the Metro Goldwyn Mayer logo with the lion roaring inside of the gold ring, however we were not able to find an available lion so we used Rachel's dog as a substitute. As for the animated ring around the lion we constructed our own ring out of some cardboard and painted it yellow with our logo across the middle. The final product with the  dog together with the ring was exactly what we were going for.

Final Day Filming

Today we shot our new ending with blood on Mehreen's hands. It was an interesting experience because it was difficult to make the blood look authentic, so we had to use a lot. Filming her walk to the sink was challenging because we planed to do a pan following her across the room but it was hard to capture the whole movement, also we didn't feel it captured captured her frantic mindset. Eventually we decided to follow her with a handheld shot as we felt if was rough and messy- parallel the patient. Also we wanted to maintain continuity throughout by not including parts of the room where the filing cabinets were and we felt we could control this best with a handheld shot. The final film was shot in one swift movement which made it even more organic.

New Ending

Our opening was close to completion when we decided the ending needed to be more captivating, so we added a scene inspired by Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' in order to entice the audience to keep watching. Here is an explanation of our idea.

The Title

After watching back the footage of the pills we decided not to use it because the clip played backwards did not look as sophisticated and clean as we expected, instead there were lots of random pills flying around the floor. As a substitute to the pills we decided to make the title through editing on the Macs rather than footage we filmed, this way we had complete control over how it looked and the final look is neat and simple.

Before

After

SE7EN

Se7en (1995)  is a thrilling crime drama that follows two homicide detectives they follow a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins to justify killing 'sinners' for their deeds. The cinematography is exceptional throughout. There were carefully thought out angles containing hidden clues as well as skillful shot chase scene across the unique terrain of a rooftop, in the rain. Although the camera work was very impressive the title sequence is what caught my attention; the appearance of the ' messy hand written' font used for the titles creates a messy, distorted aesthetic which is contradictory to the theme of the movie as the serial killer is an organised, overbearing character. Alternatively it could portray his twisted wry mind, in the same way we wanted to use a font that gave a font that was unconventional, with the aesthetic of being handwriting to create a edgy disorderly impression. This will reflects the patients mind and emotion which is why we wanted to find a font similar to 'Se7en' to use for our title sequence. 

Eventually we found a font which is relatively close match to the movie's and we decided to put it in white to create a clinical ambience that connects to the theme of the mental asylum.  

Third Day Filming

In our third day on the set we filmed an overhead shot of the patient taking her belongings out of the bag and then dropping a bracelet on the floor after being startled, this shot cross cuts to a low shot from the waist down of the patient sitting in the chair, here we can see her dropping the bracelet on the floor as a continuation from the overhead.

As well as filming a few shots for our plot we also started to work on our title for the film: Trapped. We decided to make the title 'Trapped' to imply that she is physically trapped in a asylum as well as mentally trapped in her memories of what happened to make her mentally unstable. We planned to make the outline of 'Trapped' out of assorted pills to link to the fact that shes in a mental asylum and she's on medication. Once the pills were laid out we dropped more on top till the words dispersed; this way when we played it in reverse it looks like the pills come together to form the word 'trapped'.

Second Day Filming

We filmed the shots from the chair today. Starting with a undershot from inside the bag looking up to the patient as she takes the photo frame out of the bag. 

Then a point of view shot of the patient looking into the bag of belongings as well as an over shoulder shot with a slow zoom into the photo that we were planning of merging into the flashback, however the zoom was difficult to do smoothly so it took some time to get the zoom right, but eventually we got it so it was gradual and it went all the way until the photo was the only thing in frame so the transition to the flashback would look seamless.

                             

Changes To The Storyboard

After going through our idea, we realised that we needed something that links the opening to the rest of the film to engage the audience and make them want to continue watching. The plan was to create a flashback that hints to the audience why she is in the mental asylum, so we brain stormed and came up with the idea to merge from one of the pictures in her belongings to a flashback of the patient laughing with an unknown person. This way it will make the audience question who the unknown person is and what the connection is to the patient so they will watch in anticipation.

In order to transition into the flashback smoothly we needed a screenshot from a video of the patient and the unknown person to use for the picture in the photo frame, this way we would be able to switch from the photo to the same point in the video, therefore creating the effect of her reminiscing on an old memory. We also thought it would be a good idea to have the bracelet from her bag of belonging to be worn in the flashback to add to the memories. 

So we filmed a few videos with the Mehreen and Nimra (from our media group) in different locations laughing and joking around. When we started we were using the tripod but it looked a bit too formal so we decided to do a few shots handheld instead to create the look of a casual home video, and it looked a lot more effective. So we uploaded the handheld video, paused it at a pint when they were both laughing so we could take a screenshot of a 'happy memory', then we printed it and placed the photo in the photo frame. 

First Day Filming

Today was our first day filming and it went really well. Our actress Mehreen looked like a very convincing patient once she had on the hospital gown and after we stripped down the room the mise-en-scene was very accurate for a mental asylum because it was very bare with minimal furniture. 

We decided to start by shooting the 2nd shot which is freehand from the door when a bag is placed on the floor, this shot took a few attempts because I was having trouble to a smooth camera movement while holding the props and opening the door, in the end i was able get enough of the room and Mehreen while holding the camera fairly steady.

The next camera angle was a high shot from a CCTV point of view of the bag being placed on the floor and the patient getting out of bed to pick it up. The shot was a match on action to the 2nd shot so I had to place the bag on the floor in the same way; we also had to make sure that our actress was laying in the same position to the mise-en-scene was accurate. Then we matched this shot to the 3rd which was a low angle pan form under the bed of the patient’s legs coming down and her walking to the parcel as well as the CCTV of her picking up the bag. This shot was hard because the pan had to be smooth and fast to capture the whole movement.

The final shot of the day was a mid-shot of the patient walking from the bag to sit on a chair, and then we ran out of time so we had to transform the room back to the way it was when we arrived. Overall it was a productive filming session and we got lots of good shots that we can start to edit together. 

Our Cast

Our plot is fairly straightforward so we only required two actors; the main actress who plays a patient in an asylum hospital and the supporting actor who plays an unidentified friend or family member in a photo found amongst her belongings. For our main actress we casted Mehreen because she took drama for GCSE so she was comfortable acting in front of others. We chose Nimra Ghanai to play the anonymous person in the photo because she has an approachable face that make her seem like a close friend to the patient in the photo.

  Nimra Ghani

Mehreen Javaid 

Preparation For Filming

For our project we have chosen to film in the medical room at school because it already looks like a mental asylum or some sort of institution. All we have to do is move a few things around to clear the area. This is our blog about the rest of the details we have decided:

The day before filming we met to discuss everything that we needed for the set. This was very helpful because it allowed us to go onto the set with confidence that we had everything we needed. During this chat we discussed the costume for our actress Mehreen would be wearing, we wanted to go for a clinical look so we thought a white gown would be appropriate which we were planning on purchasing from a charity store. We also decided that the girl in the asylum would have a zip lock bag of possessions, containing a photo of a loved one in a frame as well as a bracelet and maybe a bear as well. For the title of our film we were going to use tablets spelling out the word 'trapped' which we will then throw more tablets on, the whole process with be reversed to make it more interesting. 

We decided that we would zoom into the photo and then match the picture to a farm in a video as she has a flashback to a home video with a second friend talking them how to pose. Within the photo she will be wearing the bracelet from the bag which will cause her to break down in tears. 

Our Filming Location

We looked everywhere for a room that resembled the appearance of a mental asylum with plain walls and sparse furniture, eventually we decided to use the medical room at our school because it had the hospital bed that we needed to create a clinical atmosphere. The room is available to us for 2 hours after school but it is full of furniture that we don't want to be in shot because it will not fit in with our mise-on-scene so we will have to work fast to clear the room, film and put the room back to the way we found it in time for our school to close at 5.30 pm. 

 For our opening we will be leaving the bed in shot as well as two dated chairs and a privacy screen to create the appearance of a medical centre, everything else will be removed. Here are some images of the room we will be using before we transform it: 

 

 

British Film Institute

We visited the British Film Institute (BFI) on the South bank, to attend a study presentation by a media teacher from a college in Cambridge. He spoke on the convention of film openings and gave us lots of techniques and tips to make our film opening as effective as possible.

First we watched a few openings from iconic films like Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Casino Royale (2006) and Seven (1995). Then we had to comment on the macro elements of each opening, this consisted of the genre conventions, narrative, character, themes and atmosphere. And them he spoke about some other methods to get the best results:

After that, actor and director Dexter Fletcher came to speak about his work, the process behind making a film and how important a good film opening is for setting the tome for the rest of the film. We were also able to ask him questions. Overall it was an amazing experience and I am very glad that i went, because it was extremely informative.

 

Our New Storyboard

After realising that our film opening was only 34 seconds long we decided to include a few more shots to get it closer to our goal of 2 minutes. These shots will also add to the plot and help us entice the audience leaving them wondering what happens next, this is our new story board:

 

Video of Storyboard

After creating the first draft of our story board  we edited it into a short video with the sound and lighting that we plan to use for our opening this was to help us envision what it would look like and roughly how long it is. Enjoy:

Video of Storyboard

After creating the first draft of our story board  we edited it into a short video with the sound and lighting that we plan to use for our opening this was to help us envision what it would look like and roughly how long it is. Enjoy:

Our Pitch

This is our initial idea for our movie opening:

However after talking it through and thinking about the plot for our 'movie' we thought that it would be more effective if we had a mental girl in the room by herself, this way it is more mysterious and we can raise suspense because the audience will be wondering why she is in there alone.

In order to build a plot we will start with the girl in the room alone being watched by the CCTV cameras then someone will open the door and leave a box on the floor, as she starts to go through this box of memorabilia she breaks down and starts to cry, then at the bottom of the box she will find a toy or a doll which will cause her to scream in agony and go crazy. The thought behind this is that she has committed a crime or done something terrible to someone which caused her to lose her mind and be locked up in a mental asylum, and the box that she is going through brings back all the memories of her past actions consequently causing her to break down.  

Art Of The Title

I found the following movie openings on 'Art of the Title' which is a website that has thousands of openings for both movies and TV series. When i browsed through the various clips i was searching for unique and innovative methods to display the titles in our movie opening as our initial idea is simple with little movement and action. Here are a few that i admired:  

Les Bleus De Ramville

The titles in this opening were extraordinary; they effortlessly blended into their surroundings, moving with the props and changing colours accordingly. The use of flash lights was very effective as it blurred the image an made the titles stand out more. 

Fargo

This opening is so effective because everything about it is very minimal, the setting is lovely and plain, the lettering of the titles is simple but against the plain background they stand out so much more than they would have against a busy scenery.

Hard Rock Medical

The contrast between nature and medicine was very interesting in this clip and the positioning of the titles was extraordinary, especially when it would overlap onto another object and the colours of the font would change to enhance the difference. The camera transitions were very impressive as well, as one scene would dissolve into another or when the words would  fade into a picture or landscape.  

Ovarian Psychos

The beginning starts with shaky lettering for the tiles which creates a edgy tone for the rest of the opening. It would be great if we could replicate this for our project as it would really add to the effects. 

Cargo - Innocence lost
The text in this opening was really eye catching and edgy which is why we liked it. it was also very interesting how they position the titles to become apart of their surroundings.

Inspiration for Movie Opening

After coming up with an idea for our movie opening we started to look into editing techniques that we could use and we came across this music video from a previous media student. In this video they showed a mental girl and used some sort of duplicating, high speed effect which definitely added to the illusion of the girl being crazy. Personally i really liked they way they incorporated different colours when they sped it up, this way all the separate copies of the same girl were a different colour  which added to the effect. The glitching in this shot was extremely impressive together with the colour transformations and hopefully my group can take inspiration from this to put in our work.  Also the black background was great as it highlighted her further. 

The Preliminary - Final Product

Due to meticulously planning our prelim we were able to film with ease because we knew where the camera had to be and what shots and movements were required, this made it so much easier for the camera woman and it reduced the time taken to film. Although the camera shots were planned the acting was something we forgot to take into consideration. 

This is the final product that we uploaded:      

Of course there is room for improvement but overall i think we did a good job in our preliminary task, and i hope to develop my camera shots, editing skills and acting throughout the year.  

The Preliminary- Planning

Our idea:

For our preliminary we decided to have a short dialogue of about a girl that watched the horror movie 'Chucky' that is recommended to her by a friend, however she gets very shaken up and comes back to blame her friend for recommending it; while reporting back to her the lights mysteriously turn off and both girls scream.

Our storyboard:

Shot 1- I walk into the room through a door shot with a mid shot at eye level. The camera pans to follow me as i walked across the room saying 'I cant believe i...'.

Shot 2-  Match on action from previous shot as the camera switches to long shot from the point of view of  Nimra who's sitting down and I complete my sentence '...listened to you'.

Shot 3- Over the shoulder shot from behind me to a mid shot of Nimra saying 'Why whats wrong?'

Shot 4- Long shot with both of us in frame. I say 'I watched Chucky and it was so scary!'

Shot 5- Point of view from me with a close up of Nimra saying 'Stop exaggerating its not that bad'.

Shot 6- Point of view from Nimra with a close up of me saying 'No, i'm serious!' then the light mysteriously switch off and i scream.

Story Boarding

In all productions it is really important that before filming starts, a story board has been produced so the whole camera crew know what angles and shots they will be doing on set. A story board consists of rough drawings to outline what the actors will be doing along with some of the dialogue that will be said, however the purpose of the storyboard is to establish the camera angles and shots that will be used in the scene as well as the duration and movements of these camera's. 

In order to storyboard an establishing shot you would draw the shot you would be taking in the planned location and from the correct angle into one of the boxes and then write briefly that it would be a long shot and any movement the camera would be doing, for example panning or a slow zoom to indicate to the cameraman on the day of the shoot exactly what he will be doing. To add extra detail to the plan you can add what kind of lighting will be used and any audio that will be playing in the background. This process will be repeated for every different shot that will be used in a production, whether it is an over the shoulder close up of a conversation or a quick action shot where the camera is free hand and following the actor from afar, ALL camera angles must be planned before hand to prevent any possible confusion. 

Here is an example of a storyboard:

This story board is effective because it shows clearly what the actors will be doing in this scene. The shots are noticeably displayed both in words and the accurate drawings, together with a brief description of the location and context of each shot. Despite such clear sketches this story board does lack the details of the camera movements and the duration of each shot. 

Camera angles

Camera angles are an effective way to show the perspective of a character or object, commonly used in movies and shows to take a child's viewpoint or the view from a balcony, directors are becoming more and more inventive with their camera angles, in shows like breaking bad the camera is positioned in the most random places to capture the best shots and angles as shown below...

  

 Here are the four main camera angles used in cinematography:

1.  The eye level shot is directly in line with the persons face, this angle is usually used when there is a face to face dialogue between characters as it can can look like the viewpoint of the opposite person. 
   
   
   
2. The low angle is positioned to be slightly below the persons eye level looking up towards their face, this angle can be used to show the view of a shorter person or it could emphasise a characters power, strength and height to make present them in an intimidating way. 
   
   
   
3.  The high angle is shot from above the persons eye level looking don on them. this angle can show the perspective of a tall person or, on the contrary to the low angle, make a person look smaller, timid and powerless therefore presenting them as inferior to the opposing person. 
   
   
   
4. The overhead shot is taken from directly above the object so you can see them from a birds-eye view. The overhead shot shot captures everything that is going on below so can be used to show a busy party scene or simply the view from a tall building. 
   
   
   
5. The undershot takes the viewpoint from beneath the object or person so the audience views them from directly below.   
   
   
   

Camera Shots

When making a file or a TV series there is a very wide variety of camera shots that are used by the camera crew. The use of these different camera shots helps the viewer to engage with the show more whether its by keeping them on their toes with constant cuts to different shots or vividly expressing a characters facial expression and emotions. Either way a variety of camera shots are imperative to making a brilliant show. Here are the main camera shots that are used:

1. First there is the establishing shot which introduces you to the setting for the upcoming scene, this usually shows a busy town, a luxurious home or a spooky forest. All of which give you an insight as to what might be coming next; they also signify an end to one scene and the start of another. 
   
2. Then there is long shot which is has a character in it, but from a distance. This shot introduces the character to their new surroundings and allows you to see them from afar which could raise suspense if its a thriller or view them amongst the public if its in a crowded area.
   
   
   
3. The full shot allows the audience to view the characters whole body from head to toe. Usually used to show the persons outfit this shot can also be used to show a group of people socialising. 
   
4. The mid shot is of a person from the waist up to the head. It can be used a good shot to use during conversations as its close enough that you can see the facial expressions yet far enough to capture the surroundings. 
   
5. The close up is of the persons whole face from the shoulder up. This angle is very common in TV series as it is often used when there is dialogue because you can see the full face with all the expressions without being distracted by the background.
   
6. An extreme close up is when the camera zooms into a section of the face that has two or more features, this could be used to add suspense. for example pointing out a nervous twitch or or the smirk of a plotting villain. 
   
7. Finally the very extreme close up  is when the camera zooms into one feature if the face to show extra detail. This shot is mainly use in dramatic scenes but it is not used very often as it is very specific.