Shooting Schedule

Garage shots in the studio 10-11.15am
Canteen shots of shooters and selected students 11.30-12.30pm
Shots of a full canteen 12.30-1pm
Lunch for cast and crew 1-2pm
More canteen shots of shooters and selected students 2.30-3.30pm
TV room shots in the studio 3.45-5pm
Between 5-6pm anything else needed to be shot

Our shooting schedule is based around the available times to shoot within the canteen. We have given ourselves enough time to get all the footage needed and extra time just in case.

Location

We have chosen to shoot our sequence in the Hurtwood House School cafeteria to make the sequence more credible as it is actually shot at a school. It will enable us to do wide shots of the full cafeteria at lunchtime and also it is local for the cast and crew so we would not have to leave campus. It has a staircase and tables which are needed for some of our shots. We would be able to use it for free so therefore we will save money. The wide set windows enables us to be able to shoot internally of the external and externally of the internal making our sequence more stylised. The lighting in the cafeteria is appropriate for our sequence and will make it more realistic. However unfortunately we have short slots for shooting in the downstairs area of the cafeteria which puts a strain on our shooting day however we can overcome this issue by being organised and prepared and shooting outside and upstairs when we cannot shoot inside.

Cast, Props & Costumes

We casted Rory Skeoch and Guy Simpson as our shooters as they look completely different making them seem ordinary. Guy has dark hair which can portray the darkness of the character. Rory is a theatre student and has a shaved head which symbolises the military side of the two boys. The rest of our cast is a mixture of male and female students, we chose a selection of people who stereotypically would appear to be a group of friends so that we can sit them together and shoot the closer shots of them being shot however we chose a variety so that they would appear as normal students. Everyone cast is a student at Hurtwood House therefore they would be realistic at playing the roles and can relate to the characters.




Name: Rory Skeoch

Age: 17

Character/Role: Shooter (Student)






Name: Guy Simpson

Age: 17

Character/Role: Shooter (Student)




We are going to hire the weapons, for everything else we will use our own belongings. Guy has army clothes which we will use for the shooters.



Props:
2 realistic/fake shotguns,
2 realistic/fake pistols
4 ammo cartridges for various guns
Zip sports bag2
fake grenade
X box and controller
X box game
TVChairSchool
dinner meals
Mobile Phones

Costume:
Shooters:
2 Camouflage trousers
2 black t shirts
2 hoodies
2 pairs of trainers

Students: their normal clothes.

Storyboards

The next step in the pre-production process of creating an opening sequence of a thriller was to start producing storyboards. A storyboard is a detailed breakdown of the specific technicalities that the production crew must follow whilst shooting. It also provides a clear guide for the editor to construct the sequence as the creator intended it to look and sound. The storyboard therefore details camera, sound, lighting, mise en scene details as well as dictating timing, pace and editing style.

Initially our group finalised the specific shots in sequence order by carefully visualising the sequence and researching existing movies that used a similar filmic style.

Research

THE COLUMBINE SHOOTING;

The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in an unincorporated area in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and with Littleton's postal code. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12 students and one teacher. They also injured 21 other students directly, and three people were injured while attempting to escape. The pair then committed suicide. It is the fourth-deadliest school massacre in United States history, after the 1927 Bath School disaster, 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and the 1966 University of Texas massacre, and the deadliest for an American high school.
The massacre provoked debate regarding gun control laws, the availability of firearms in the United States, and gun violence involving youths. Much discussion also centered on the nature of high school cliques, subcultures and bullying, as well as the role of violent movies and video games in American society. The shooting also resulted in an increased emphasis on school security, and a moral panic aimed at goth culture, social outcasts, the gun culture, the use of pharmaceutical anti-depressants by teenagers, violent films and music, teenage internet use, and violent video games.

Group Idea

Our idea was to shoot a 'school shooting' based on the events of the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre. The film is about the six suspected potential shooters, the audience are taken on each suspects journey and are shown the reasons why they would have wanted to commit the crime. For example a teacher who is constantly harassed by students or a typically bullied student; the audience would be shown different occurrences that caused their hate, all leading up to the day of the shooting. The audience are lead down different paths and the film also cuts between past and present to show the aftermath of the shooting as well as what lead up to it. The twist at the end of the film is that the shooter is very unexpected as it is perhaps the most obvious of them all but the audience are cleverly tricked because they also shoot themselves in the arm to pretend they were too a victim of the shooting. The opening sequence idea was to show the shooting and the date of the shooting. It would open with a montage shot of the suspects that the audience will follow later in the film, they would be in different areas of the school. It would then cut to a shot of pupils and teachers eating lunch, showing a normal day, perhaps the suspects are also seated in this area. It would then suddenly cut to be shot behind the shooter walking up the cafeteria; in the opening sequence we never see the shooter's true identity however there are perhaps clues. This is too build up suspense and 'thrill' the audience. It then cuts to black and the audience hears the sound effects of a shooting involving screams, gun shots etc. This implies that there has been a shooting without having to literally show it. It then cuts back to a similar shot of the cafetria however now there are dead victims and wounded. We then see the shooter sit down and perhaps have a cigarette or cup of tea...this is yet to be decided. It then could perhaps cut a shot from the shooters perspective, walking into a classroom and seeing the expression change on the students faces, it would then cut to black and perhaps the audience would hear more sound effects. However the shooting of the opening sequence is yet to be decided. The thriller could potentially be named 'High Score' as this an aparent slang term used by shooters for how many people they can kill. It could also be a play on 'high school.' The idea and perhaps slogan behind the film is that the shooter believes that the students need to 'learn the ultimate lesson' which plays on school lessons but also a lesson on their behaviour and it is their death that is the ultimate punishment. The institution that would make this film would most likely be mainstream Hollywood Film Co and my main target audience would be teenagers as they would be able to relate to the characters however people of any age who enjoy this type of film would be targeted.

Our Final Idea

Based on true events, at 12.00pm, on the 10th of October 2010, teacher, Mark and student, Sandra. Disguise themselves and stroll into the "happy" British boarding school, Jacksonville. They then blitz the school canteen and cause minor injuries to also appear as victims. We follow their "normal" lives leading up to the event, the main reason for their actions, the students need to learn the ultimate lesson and also how they eventually get found out, when a witness builds up the courage to tell the true events of that fatal day.

This film that we are producing bases on the live of teenagers, and essentially takes place around a teenage boarding college. Therefore it seems natural to pressume that our target audience will be for both a male and female audience at the ages of 16-18. But also, because of the issues raised and the controversy made we decided that it would most likely appeal to older age groups too, from around 25 and upwards.

Initial Presentation of class ideas for potential thrillers

As a group we each individually pitched our ideas, for potential group projects that could be shot in January. We were looking for an idea, that was practical and accuratley reflected the conventions of the horror or thriller genre.
My idea; was to have to the location at school, where a 'new guy' arrives who seems mysterious and different to everyone else, he seems to only take a liking to one particular girl within the school, a girl that starts to notice his stares and odd looks that eventually begin to make her feel uneasy. He begins to sort of follow her every move, everywhere she is he is too. One dark late evening, the girl forgets some books from her outside locker, whilst walking through the mist of the night and reachinig the lockers she notices something isn't right, and feels as though she's not alone. As she routes through her locker, she begins to slowly feel the breath of someone else on her neck, as she turns she realises it's the strange new boy. He quickly grabs her mouth mid way through her scream, and drags her to the floor. You then begin to see, her eyes wide and blood seeping out of the corner of her mouth to show that she's dieing.

All of the group voted of which was most workable, and effective idea that was genericially authentic and would make and effective and suspensefull piece that could be developed. This then helped us to form our production groups, our group idea;

Thriller

What is a Thriller?

"Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, television and gaming that includes numerous and often overlapping sub-genres."

Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent suspense and action packed. Most people enjoy thrillers as the anticipation usually keeps people on the edge of their seats, as twists unfold and unexpected 'bad guys' appear, the pscychological aspect of thriller is usually the most popular, whereby the audience are mislead by the film to later realise that what they pressumed before, was wrong.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro is a professional non-linear editing software application developed by Apple Inc. The software logs and captures video onto a hard drive (internal or external), where it can be edited and processed. Which is why it is best suited to our project, as we were shown by Matt, Final cut pro ensures that our work will always be safe and backed up by the server. First of we were taught about 'Logging Rushes', Rushes is an alternative word for our film material. This process enables us to select our wanted shots into a thing called a 'Logged Bin', this is where we can store out best clips. To select a clip, you simply press down the letter 'i' and then a furthur 'o' when you've selected the size of the clip wanted.

Secondly, we placed the shots in chronilogical order on the time line and then trimmed and cut them in order to create the illusion of simultaneour event. Any other additional sounds may be included, such as soundtracks and sound effects.

Preliminary Task: Introduction

In our friday lesson, myself and a group of three others shot our preliminary task, The preliminary task involved us following a storyboard and script to create a conversation between two of our groups members, one of which was me. We also didn't have particuarly great lighting, so we made do with just one light source. We did this task to practice and explore camera work, editing techniques, lighting, and how you shouldnt cross the 180 line. Gina directed us, and chose different angles on how to take the shot. Whilst Ben ensured that we were both heard and held the boom. We decided to shoot it in one of the media classrooms, and stuck to just that location. The scene was a series of shots where I was sat down in a chair with my hands in handcuffs refusing to James' pleads as he walked into the door laying a gun on the table.

Key Technical Elements of Shooting;

Observation of 180 degree rule
continuity/ compostition
camera postion (movement, angle, technique)
lighting/ focus
beginning and ending of role
catching multiple takes

Introduction To The Studio

Our introduction to the studio was where we had to pretend we were doing an interview for T4, we had two presenters; Lainy and Chaz. And the rest of the class werew interviewed. Two students were in charge of the camera, and another three incharge of three individual lights.

Introduction To The Camera And Tripod

Our first lesson we experienced using the PD170 video camera. We where told to construct the cartoni delta tripod. This involved getting it out of the travel bag and pull the legs apart. Then we where told to get the PD170 out of the box and mount it on the cartoni delta tripod. We where shown how to bubble the tripod this consisted of loosening the nut under the mounting block and you would movie it until the split-levels bubble was in the middle this shows that the camera was level. Then we where told how to change the settings on the camera for different types of light.

Introduction to photoshop

In our introduction to photoshop we were taught all the basics on the tool bar, we used our new skills on photos we had taken in a previous lesson of eachother. We messed around with liquiefying and the clone stamp tool etc. For prep, we were asked to create a horror movie poster using the skills that we'd learnt the previous lesson. I felt the skills we had learnt were useful as without them I wouldn't have been able to make my horror poster as effective.



*The lasso is the cut/crop people, objects or buildings, sky etc. There are three different lassos you can use; the polygon lasso, the magnetic lasso and the free hand lasso.
*The healing brush is to get ride of any unwanted spots, scratches or specs on the picture.
*The clone stamp tool directly copies information from the first area to the next.
*The smudge tool is quite self explanatory; it spreads and mixes the content of an image.
*The doge tool lighters areas.
*The burn tool darkens areas.
*The sponge saturates /desaturates a areaof an image.

My Horror Poster..

It was more than interesting making my horror poster. Firstly I got my friend Zara Scriven to model for me, but it wasn't just ordinary posey photos I wanted, instead I turned her into something completely different.. an 'emo', seeing as they're quite scary looking themselves I thought it would fit the criteria of horror. So after drenching her in black eye makeup and white powder I took numerous photos of her acting in a scared manner. When I selected my favourite two photos I edited them on photoshop. I firstly started off by changing the colour of the photos to black and white to keep it dark, turned the brightness up to enhance the white of her skin and black of her makeup. I then merged the two images together. To cut out the shape of Zara's face I used the magnetic lasso tool and then placed it ontop of my original image where she is sitting in the corner of the room. To make this look natural, I feathered the sides so it looked moulded into the first image.
For the text, I went for red. Mainly because it ressembles blood, I felt this was appropriate as it is a horror after all! I kept the title and characters names in red and the same font. But for the slogan i chose to change the colour to white so it stood out more than the others to dry and draw people to it.

Analysis Of First Five Minutes Of Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

I have chosen to write my analysis on the first opening five minutes to Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince. At first, the scene starts off with the Warner Brothers production sign except they’ve edited it from the usual blue sky and gold Warner Brother logo to a grey misty effect with thick clouds surrounding the logo and dark skies. I feel this was effective and a smart way to start off the film as it builds suspense and danger.
From that clip, it very cleverly goes into an extreme close up shot of Harry Potter’s eye from breaking through the metal steel bars of the Warner brothers production sign through the clouds and then moulds into the shape of Harry’s eye. The camera then zooms out to give you a close up Harry’s face which is being exposed through a very faint light so you can only see the outline of his face and glasses. The scene then breaks away from Harry, to a flashing seen which flickers between a negative shot where everything seems transparent in black and white and then back to normal colour to make it look as if Harry is having his picture taken by the press. Dumbledore the holds onto Harry’s arm and walks him off as if he is a prisoner with his hands behind his back as the camera keeps flashing and following the two subjects it then goes back to the first initial scene of the clouded sky’s and lightening where the opening Title for Harry Potter is shown in the same way Warner Brothers Pictures was.
It then contrasts between supernatural and natural, the scene is straight away taken to a typical meeting in an office in London, where they are disturbed by a unusual figure in the sky where they have edited a mould of a skull through the clouds, they show this through the windows of the office looking up. Black thick streams of smoke then seem to dart around the sky and then head down into London, but as this is happening they keep the camera focused on the clouded skulls which are slowly forming and keeping the camera still whilst the other black darted smoke goes in and out of the shot.
The camera then moves through the middle of London as if to be the smoke flying around in and out through the streets and buildings of London. This camera angle is more intense than others, as it then takes your through time to the ‘Muggle World’ where the location is more dark and old, and the streets are smaller and claustrophobic. The change from the busy bustling streets straight into the gloomy walk ways of the Muggle World was unexpected yet effective as the camera stayed at the same zoom the whole way through. The camera then follows back through into London where the London Millennium Bridge. They edited the bridge to look as if it had broken and swirled down into the River Thames. The scene then moves to the London underground where his black smoke seems to snake throughout the crowd causing distress within the citizens. The camera darts from close up to wide shots of peoples individual faces to catch their expression.

The gender and age of this film was definitely appropriate for all ages, but more aimed at the younger generation with the supernatural magic. However as the films have progressed the filming has got more intense to where they had to change the age limit up because of some disturbing scenes.

INTRODUCTION

Hello!
My name is Gemma Dyer, I'm currently a student at Hurtwood House college. I have just begun studying Media studies AS level and it's going pretty well so far.
I like practically all music but i do have my favourites like Death Cab for Cutie, Kings of Leon, City And Colour and Placebo. My favourite TV shows of all time will always be Friends, it never fails to make me laugh no matter how many times I've seen it, as well as the O.C unfortunatley they are both finished :( I also like gossip girl.. alot.