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: