Completed work

Work has been completed;

• Location confirmation - We have a park which we will film one scene in as well as a cafeteria for a phone call scene and a bus stop. We will be filming the flashback scene in the same room as the rehearsal scene.

• Character change - We have included a male in the film and removed one of the female characters, the character profiles will be updated as well as adding photos of the characters soon.

• Script change -The script has been changed and posted on the blog.

Final Script

To Be Completed

Work that needs to be completed;

• Location confirmation - We need to talk to the person in charge of the drama department in order to book a suitable time in which we can film.

• Photo storyboard - We will complete this before filming, to give us a rough idea of what shots we are using.

• Character change - We are now including a male in the film and removing one of the female characters so we need to change the character profiles. We also need to add photos of the characters to the character profiles.

• Script change - As we have a new character, we need to change the script in order to match up with the other characters (change the names i.e - Abbie - Male's name and Rachel - Abbie)

Risk Assessment

Audience Research

The Ghost Ship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om_o4YcCqWk
Here is a link to the opening scene to "The Ghost Ship".


The opening to "The ghost ship" start with a flash back of what happens on the ship many years ago and tells you what the film is going to be like, we like this idea and have done a similarly thing with our film as it also began with a flash back to show all about the film with out having someone telling the story, or having a voice over telling you about the past. The flash back in the ghost ship shows the pass in time because of the different style of clothes and old style of music. This also means that the film will be set in the future and will have a great deal to do with the passed that is shown, we like the idea of flash backs because is shows that the problem has been going on for a long time and means that what happens to the people in the film wont be the only people that has happened to. we like all the ideas that have been used in "The Ghost Ship" and the flashback helped inspired us with our own film.

Audience research questions

1. What genre of films are you into?
2. Are you interested in horror films?
3. What would make you go and watch a film?
4. Would you be interested in seeing our film? Give reasons for your answer.
5. Does anything intrerest you in the idea of our film? Give reasons for your answer.

Previous Planning, from previous project- Shooting script

This is the first draft of the shooting script, this may be subject to change depending on time limits.
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Shooting Script- The Class of 96’

Opening two minute sequence

Interior- Library- Daytime

SHOT 1-           Establishing shot- WS of the queue of teens in library.

                       

SHOT 2-           ZOOM in to MS of Evan playing on his phone.

SHOT 3-           Two shot (MS) of Luke and Anna talking.

SHOT 4-           PAN right following Anna to the desk to collect the box.

SHOT 5-           Two shot of Evan and Luke laughing.

SHOT 6-           WS of Evan on his phone and Luke collecting the box.

SHOT 7-           CU of Evan responding to his name being called.

SHOT 8-           PAN right to a two shot of Evan collecting a box.

Interior- Corridor-Daytime

SHOT 9-           MLS (contrast) of the door shutting by itself.

Interior- Bedroom- Day

SHOT 10-         HIGH ANGLE MLS of Evan unpacking the box.

SHOT 11-         MS of Evan drawing the curtain.

Exterior- Car park- Daytime

SHOT 12-         WS to CU on rope (contrast).

Interior- Corridor- Day

SHOT 13-         Over the shoulder (Evan).

SHOT 14-         POV CU of timetable.

Interior- Library- Night

SHOT 15-         MLS to CU on book (contrast).

Interior- Canteen- Daytime

SHOT 16-         WS establishing scene.

SHOT 17-         CU of Evan asking question.

SHOT 18-         MCU of Evan, Luke and Anna around the table.

SHOT 19-         MS of others smiling and reacting to Evan’s final line.

Interior- Empty Classroom- Night

SHOT 20-         WS of classroom with the lights flickering (Contrast).

Interior- Library- Daytime

SHOT 21-         WS establishing scene .

SHOT 22-         MCU of Evan on the computer.

SHOT 23-         Two shot of Luke and Evan talking.

SHOT 24-         Over the shoulder shots, to mimic the flow of conversation.

In the first two minutes of this film:

·  Shots- 24 different shots, mainly WS or of numerous characters in frame. Shots in the library scenes and corridor (2) will feature people in the background apart from close ups. Shots are either still or pan from left to right.

·  Location- 6 different locations (most scenes shot in the library).

·  Editing- Light transitions and title sequences between scenes. Fast editing to build tension.

·  Characters- Introduced to the three main characters, Luke, Anna and Evan. Brief shots of library staff and background actors.

·  Sound- Dialogue or voice over’s in non-contrast scenes. Non-diagetic music played throughout contrast scenes.

Title sequence. 4 Differing title sequences relating to the scene following it. Production logo, curtain, book and flashing letters.

Introduced to Evan, Luke and Anna exploring and settling into their new environment. Evan’s character seems friendly and shy, Luke being loud and a joker, with Anna being quite posh but Luke’s partner in crime.

We see the ‘ghosts’ affecting Evan and his friends environment but no major effects as yet. Evan and his friends act like the majority of typical students and don’t reflect or overact a particular stereotype making the film accessible to the audience.

Previous Planning from Previous project- Production logo

Previous Planning from previous project- Title Sequence Storyboard

Previous Planning from Previous project- Storyboard

Previous Planning from previous project- Script

This is the original script, but if it isn't quite long enough for two minutes of screenplay, an alternative ending has been scripted also underneath.

Previous Planning from Previous Project- Analysis of Se7en Opening Credits

All of the actions within the sequence (book pages turning, making tea, drawings), are in a dull colour tonality. This is a plot giveaway to the audience; that the film is dark, and makes it seem more chilling, as the images used are quite provoking. Especially as he crosses out the eyes on the photograph of a little boy. The actions within the sequence become increasingly sinister looking, as only a pair of dirty hands are shown performing them. These hands imply to the audience that they belong to an odd, and most likely central character to the film; so the audience already feels like they understand this character, without being shown his face, or knowing his name. The actions are not shown in chronological order, and often 'double vision', and flicker across each other; however, the actions seem to focus around making something.
As well as having a dull tonality, there are flashing lights at odd, erratic moments, often coinciding with the screen titles changing. This is an indication that the film is jumpy, and is likely to spook them. The screen titles are also written in the style of a young child's handwriting, which from our other research, we have found that many ghost films include a young child, as they seem to make films seem much creepier. This is probably because most people associate children with innocence and naivety, and reversing that stereotype can evoke some powerful emotions. The imagery can also confuse people, as the words crossed out in the book, are sexually related (intercourse), to be swiftly replaced with the image of a child's face being crossed out on screen.
The music follows the action on screen, as it starts off quite slow, then when the hands seem to be creating a plan or an interest in pain, the music picks up pace. It uses slow held on notes, and an uncommon drumbeat, to produce a catchy and listenable, but mismatched soundtrack. On further research, I found that the song used (Nine Inch Nails- Closer to God) which is a remix, is ironically, 7 minutes long.

Previous Planning from Previous Project- Costuming the Character

We haven't decided who will use for our characters yet, whether they are male or female. Our main character is a student and the clothing needs to be generic 'student look', otherwise it could be seen as discrimination against a particular group of people.The costume they will need to wear will need to be 'popular' culture clothing so we can target a wider audience and not be predjudice against stereotypes. This clothing cannot be gothic, emo, plastic or too sporty looking because this provides the audience with an attachment to the character, something to relate to and hopefully go, 'they were just like me', which adds extra spookiness to the film and post-film experience.

The male choices for clothing: Are a Hoody, T-shirt, Trainers and Jeans.
The female choices of clothing: Are a Long top, Cardigan, Pumps and Leggings.

Previous Planning from Previous Project- Treatment (Whole film)

Programme: The Class of 96' (Working Title)

Duration: 90 minutes approx.
Feature length film. With a suggested release for Halloween holidays, as it is an appropriate theme relating to the time of year, we also suggest mainly late showings at cinemas, as this is a popular idea for films qualifying as scary.

Audience: We are targeting thriller movie lovers of a 15-25 age category, no specific gender target, but they probably will have an interest in the supernatural.

Resume: A new student (Evan Yates) and his friends (Anna Thornton and Luke Walters) move into recently refurbished halls of residence at their new university; this building hasn't been in use for over 15 years. A few odd things start to happen (moving objects, strange noises, flickering lights), which eventually begin to affect the students living there, with some even moving out. They find out from another student that the building used to be a hospital ward for those needing psychiatric help, and that some of the old residents still 'live' there. These ‘ghosts’ want to make the students leave, and they try all sorts of high jinks to scare them, finally by taking drastic measures of actually injuring them.

The ‘ghosts’ are supposedly never seen, but Anna can see them, not that she admits this to her friends. She eventually admits that she can see them, before being injured herself. Without Anna’s help the ‘ghosts’ can’t be stopped, and the students flee. This film will explore conspiracies people never believed in, such as ghosts, floating objects etc. Forcing the viewer to re-think everything they ever shunned or believed in.

Suggested elements:
a) Original music from new artists.
b) Montage and flashbacks to the days when the building was used as a former mental institution for the criminally insane.
c) First person narrative voiceover.

d) Contrasting and grainy flashbacks.

Previous Planning from Previous Project- Certification Research

We have the idea of our opening of the two minute film we are going to produce storyboarded and type of shot listed. So now we are looking at the type of audience we are aiming for. Many ghost films are rated 15 because they pose frequent psychological threats in their films which may disturb a younger child. Our film may also contain explicit language unsuitable for younger teenagers, but will be in context with the action sequences portrayed within the film.

Most films try to go for the middle of the road demographically, not too conservative in their ways, not too abstract, this then reflects the majority of the population. As proven in recent research of 2008, men and women over 25 like the polar opposites of film genres. So our film needs to try to remain mainstream and possibly draw on real life experiences a majority of the audience has gone through. So our intial idea of basing the film on a new university student is current and relates to our probable target audience. Currently our target audience is in the region of 15 - 25.

Previous Planning for Previous Project- The Haunting (1963) Trailer

We like the trailer for this film, because for the era it was made it was very scary in context. This is because, the ghost element of the film doesn't use an actor dressed up in bed sheets or anything obvious, and instead plays an internal trick of the mind. They use sound effects and props moving by theirselves, to fully create the element of the unseen supernatural.

Previous Planning from Previous Project- The Sixth Sense - Official Trailer

The trailer uses the most iconic lines from the script, and to demonstrate the change of scene or location, they use a transition similar to a camera flash. This is similar to the strobe lighting transitions in the opening credits to the film Se7en. This seems to be a common feature of ghost films, as it scares the audience and draws them in. Using fear or comedy is used in trailers to manipulate a response, which either interests the viewer or not.

Previous Planning from Previous Project- Background Research

Finished the preliminary exercise, and have started to brainstorm ideas for our final project. Our major genre of film we'd like to do is a ghost/ haunted house sort of thing, and we like the idea of not actually showing a ghost in the film, but still giving a ghostly presence. We took this idea from watching trailers of The Haunting (1960's version). This way we'll avoid continuity issues with an extra actor and provide an extra spook factor.

Looking at other ghost film trailers we noticed that fast editing was used to create suspense, this is something we may try to incorporate into our work. We also concluded that every ghost film title starts with... The (something). So the title of our film needs to be catchy to stay in the genre naming trick.