Research & Planning: Production Company Name Ideas

Production Company Name Ideas - Wordle

I created a word cloud on Wordle.net in order to see all the words I came up with that are relevant to my genre.  I also made the theme of the cloud relatable to my genre which should make it easier to find a name for my production company.

I particularly like the names:
Killer Studios
Blackout Productions
Red Raven productions
Hollow Mind Studios
Black Iris Productions

I shall make at least one logo for each and decide which I prefer at a later date.

Research & Planning: Treatment

Treatment Proposal 1

After discussing our options with our tutor, we came to the conclusion that this idea is the best suited us as we will be able to play around with the cinematography and editing:

We decided to use:

• MPAA Message (Rating)
• A handheld camera view of the teens around the camp fire, with a recording signal flashing in the corner.
• The teens start to sway and fall to the ground one by one, causing the camera to fall on its side.
• We see the teens getting dragged off the screen from the camera's perspective, which will be lay sideways on the ground.
• The campfire dies out and the shot fades to black.
• The production/distribution company name and logo appear and then fade out again.
• Next, there's a single, static shot of the teens from the corner of the room.
• Fast editing from all four perspectives, a camera in each corner.
• Single light source in the middle of the room, goes out and jump cuts to black.
• Light source comes back on, we see a figure/silhouette in the furthest corner from the POV.
• Faced paced shots from various peaks e.g. character's getting hurt, zooms onto specific characters etc.
• Beat of a heart, non diegetic.
• On each individual beat the clip fades between victims and killers hand slowly.
• Just as the killer's weapon is being brought down. 
• We cut to black on moment of impact, we hear the thud.
• Film title fades in.
• Innocent cry of a female character plays over the top.
• "Coming Soon"

Research & Planning: Proposal Idea 2

Proposal 2

Character with schizophrenia, during his psychological episodes, thinks he's having hallucinations of people being killed when actually he is the killer but doesn't realise it.

Mise-en-scene:

• Various killing locations e.g. alleyways, under bridges etc.
• Blood, cuts and scars
• Killing utensils
• His own room with twisted images/posters on the wall
• Hallucination Diary

Sound:

• Screams
• A mixture of digetic and non diegetic sounds
• Character theme during his killings
• Voice Over

Editing:

• Fast paced
• Dissolves
• Fades
• Jump cuts in the killing scenes

Cinematography:

• High angles
• Tight framing
• Eyeline matches
•  Over the shoulder
• POV shots

Research & Planning: Proposals Idea 1

Proposals 

Idea One

Party in the woods goes downhill and characters end up in an abandoned house with no means of escape and no explanation of how they got there:

Mise-en-scene:

Open spaced woods with a camp fire and low key lighting making it seem as though the camp fire is the only available light source.

     Deserted house, low key lighting

     Murderer, is going to need some distinctive feature i.e. strange eye, scar etc. yet has normal clothes to make him seem more human.

     Victims, aged 17-19, slow decline in appearance to show stress and vulnerability.

     Titles will be used throughout the trailer to give a rough idea of the plot, vital pieces of dialogue could also be included 

Sound:

Various themes and stings and highlight areas to shock the audience and add tension to specific areas.

     Diegetic sounds will be used to add realism to the trailer, making it a more believable story.

     Non-diegetic music can be used to build tension slowly and add cause the audience to panic.

Cinematography:
POV shots from the murderers perspective will be used in a handheld style so imply that he's watching the victims.  These will be on a slightly higher angle to show they are the power figure in these areas.

     We decided to mix between handheld and tripod shooting styles to show the contrast between murderer and victim.  We also thought it would make the murderer seem more sinister if he was shown recording his actions.

Editing:
Our editing will be fast paced to work with the feeling of panic we aim to create in our other factors.  Yet it will be slower in the woods to give a calmer feel, showing the equilibrium stage of our plot.

     We will use mostly straight cuts in the abandoned house to emphasise the disruption along with various peaks featured in the trailer.  However, we felt dissolves would be best in the woods to the imply calmness of the equilibrium.  This also works well with our editing speed.

   

     

Research & Planning: London - Trip to the BBFC

London - BBFC Visit

Our visit to the BBFC in London helped give me a better insight onto how I should present my trailer in order to gain the age rating I want as well as some knowledge into what working at the BBFC would be like and a rough idea of what to expect.  

Firstly, we discussed how the contents of a film affects the age rating given to it by discussing a clip from "The Simpson's Movie" (2007).  We picked up on the fact that this film contained:

• Underage smoking
• Bad language
• Cartoon child nudity
• Police brutality

We then discussed why a film containing this was given a 12A rating, in which we decided that due to the fact that all four factors weren't severe and didn't last very long throughout the clip made the entire video feel much more relaxed without the feeling of maliciousness.  Also the fact that it was a cartoon, making it an unreal visual in which people are watching due to its humorous content.  This gave me a good idea on how the age rating process works as well as some key pointers to use in my trailer in order to get the rating I want.

Research & Planning: London Trip Photographs

Last week, from Wednesday, 3rd - friday, 5th of October I visited London in which I went to London Film museum.  I was able to see many props and costumes from films such as Harry Potter and Hell Raiser which gave us a few ideas on characters that could feature in our film.

Research & Planning: Sound Test

For my sound test I experimented with Garage band using both pre-recorded tracks and things I created with the electronic sounds installed on the software itself. This works well with my genre with the strange sounds and twisted lyrics from Nirvana's Something in the Way.