Research and Planning: Meeting 2

Over the holidays we need to keep up with our blog posts so I have discussed this with Pippa and we will be deciding who will be adding what to their blogs. We need to add extra posts in order to make sure we are on track to receive a high grade. I will be in Euro Disney during the holidays so I will try my best to catch up with this work when I return to the country.

Me:

• Costume trials
• Two film poster analysis'
• If available, location idea shots

Pippa:

• Sound trailer
• Two film poster analysis'
• Cinematography test shots.

Research and Planning: Main character make-up ideas

Tonight I decided to experiment with some make up to see if I could come up with an idea for my film trailer's main character to wear. I started off by looking online for some inspiration and I came across this particular image. I like the use of dark colours on the eyes here and I would like to achieve something similar to create my dark female character.

I then decided to get out my makeup box and see if I could take my own spin on this look.

This is how I wear my makeup on a day to day basis, I think that this could be a good starting point for my characters makeup but in my opinion it's just not 'dark' or 'edgy' enough. Although it would be impractical to wear makeup at all during a zombie apocalypse makeup is a key character trait for a film trailer. In my opinion this is just a little bit too plain for a film.

                                     
By adding a bit of extra black around the eyes this already gives a darker character look a lipstick also adds more dimensions to the look and makes it a lot more visually appealing. We want to create something close to an anti-hero and instead of looking all clean cut and bright, we would like her to fit the 'bad girl' look.

 I like the idea of adding a lot of black around the eyes and smudging it out to create a smokey effect. This could be seen as quite sultry but it could also make our character fall into the male gaze and become a slight sexual object. This is something we're not exactly avoiding.

 This is the darkest idea for the make up. At the moment I am thinking that there may be too much black happening here and a slightly brighter lip colour may work better. Brighter lipstick could always we a trademark of our character.

Research and Planning: Film name, audience feedback

As we will soon be beginning to make our film trailer and have still not decided on a name I decided to ask my friends via Facebook for some good suggestions.We know that we would like our film to be named after our lead character as this has a snappy effect. 'Gothica' is a perfect example of this, it makes a statement and  I enjoy the impression it makes on an audience.

I will look through all of these names and see if they are suitable for my film, I will discuss this with my partner Pippa to make sure we agree on a good choice. At the moment I quite like the name Alexis.

Edit: I went back to have a look and a lot more names have been suggested, a lot of these are appealing to me. I'm finding it hard to chose!

Research an Planning: Acura Corperation logo draft

As I have decided to take responsibility for Mise en Scene I decided that it might be a good idea to create a logo for our 'villains'. As they are an evil corporation they need to look rather professional. This is my first draft as I like the idea of using blue and white as they strike me as rather medical and clinical colours. This could go against what our villains are really like, as they are the ones who released the infection to the world.

I plan to re draft this a few more times until I am completely happy with it. I might add some green into the colour scheme.

Research and Planning: Production Schedule

This is a rough draft of my production schedule for making my trailer, magazine cover and film poster. If I am able to keep on track with this schedule I will not fall behind with my work and won't have to try to catch up. As I will not be in the country next week I may have to catch up however on some work at the weekend.

Research and Planning: Production company names

To help me decide on a name for our production company I used Word it out.com I typed in random words I liked or words used in other production company titles. This is almost like a mind map of what I could use for my final product.

Research and Planning: Equiptment and software list

This year I will be using a few pieces of equipment or software that I am familiar with from last year. I may also be using some things that are completely new to me.

Blogger









I am and will be using blogger to keep the examiner updated on my progress in regards to creating my poster, magazine and trailer.

iMovie



iMovie will be used to edit the project together at the end. We could also add some post production effects using this.  I could alternatively use final cut pro to add these editing effects.

Video camera
 
This is what I will be using to film my trailer.


iPhoto




This will be used to export all pictures from the camera onto the Mac or laptop



SLR Camera

All of my test shots will be taken on this sort of camera. I will also use the SLR to take images for my magazine and poster



Mac computers














The Mac computers are used to complete work in class, at home I use my laptop. The Mac computers have all of the software we could need on them.


Photoshop
 

Photoshop will be used to edit all of my images that I will be using for my film poster and magazine cover.


 Garage Band

 
 Garage band will be used to create the score for our trailer, it could also be used for some sound effects.

Research and Planning: Props (Weapons)

As we are aiming to make a action/horror film we would need weapons to make it seem more realistic and  true to the action genre. As we want to 'break' the stereotype of a weak female character we need to give her the biggest weapons we can to both show that she can handle herself and to add to the excitement of the film trailer we intend to make.

We would like her main weapon to be a machine gun as this is a very big and powerful weapon allowing for long ranged attacks. As I am very interested in zombie movies and zombies in general I would like everything to fall as close to realistic as we can achieve. As Zombies pass on their infection through bite or scratch our character wouldn't want to be getting too close to them. Our teacher has  told us that she already has some replica machine guns in the college that we would be able to use for our project. This will be very helpful.


Another weapon which would be good to use would be a machete as this would bring an up close action aspect to the trailer. We would be able to get a fake one of these from a local fancy dress store or even a super market as Halloween is approaching they will be easy to purchase.


As we would like to create a montage of clips in our trailer we think it could be a good idea to add other weapons into the mix. This could make the film seem more dimensional and give clues as to what will happen in the film. A baseball bat is a typical example of a make do weapon people use in zombie films.

Research and Planning: Zombie makeup planning

 These are examples of makeup we would find do-able considering the budget we have in regards to our film trailer. We want to achieve the stereotypical scary lifeless look. We will need to create pale skin, bloody mouths and lifeless eyes. In particular we would like to make all of our zombies look individual with different blood patterns or wounds but still with the same stare or walk.

 We do not have enough budget to use special effects such as rotting skin or broken limbs. However we do plan on being as creative as possible by using what we already have. At home I already have white stage makeup which we can use to pale the faces and as Halloween is coming up soon we are quite lucky and will be able to get hold of fake blood and possibly other cheap makeup sets. In particular I would like to create a darkened eye area and bloody wounds.

Hopefully we will be able to add some editing post production to make the makeup we create look more realistic and frightening.

Research and Planning: Garage Band test

This is my first attempt at using Garage Band. These are snippets of sounds I would possibly like to use in my own film trailer. I gathered some of them by downloading sound from Youtube, others were loops I found of Garage band itself. These sounds put together should hopefully show the genre of my film trailer and give an idea of the style and pace I am aiming for.

I did not feel very comfortable using Garageband and this was a difficult task for me. Hopefully when the time comes of me having to complete this properly I will have improved enough to give help to my partner Philippa who has taken responsibility for the sound of our piece.

I hope with the added dimensions of cinematography, mise en scene and editing this sound will add to the professionalism of my work.

Research and Planning: Treatment

After receiving feedback from my teacher and classmates we have decided that we'd definitely like to try and move forward with our first idea. I have made a list of what I would like to happen in my trailer. This is subject to change.

•  Trailer begins from the perspective of zombie stalking main character. Fades to show time lapse
• Sound of 'clip clop' shoes and zombie noises
• Sudden pan around to main characters face
• Dialogue of  'This is my world.' Or something similar
• 'This city used to be so full of life but then the Acura company came."
• Low angle. Shot of men in suits walking down a corridor, flashes of logo
• Graphic of match of logo on brief case to logo on poster as main character walks down the street
•  "They said they'd help us. They said they'd fix us.. they were wrong"
• Zombie flash fight scene. Fast paced.
• Music plays 'rock' but slower in the beginning
• Music speeds up a lot and adds more tension
• Montage of scenes matched with the pace of the song playing over the top
• Including scenes of character attacking with different weapons
• Men in suits looking shifty
• A kiss scene with a mystery man
• Seemingly being watched by cctv cameras
• Date of release comes up at the end
• Jumpy bit of a zombie jumping at the camera

Research and Planning: Production Companies

As I want my film trailer to appear realistic I will need to pick a production company that I can 'pretend' will be affiliated with my film. So I have decided to look at real production companies so that I know how to make my fake one look.


The Dreamworks logo usually appears on family films such as Shrek, Madagascar and Ice Age. These films are usually rated with a U certificate.



Fox searchlight produce a large variety of films including 28 Days later and quirky comedies such as Juno.

Over the next few weeks I will begin thinking about what I would like my own production company logo to look like. I would like it to match the genre of my film trailer by picking a suitable name and colour scheme. If I take the time to make my own production company logo it will look a lot better than taking an image from Google.

Research and Planning: Location ideas

My ideal main location for our film trailer would be on the backstreet's of Manchester city centre. This is because it is often empty giving us a lot of free space to work with which is something we would need if we were shooting any scenes involving running or a large master shot showing the 'abandoned city.' We could even stick up bio hazard posters or scatter some around to make it look more believable. By being 'out of the way' when filming our project we will also avoid coming across any shoppers who happen to walk on by. They could potentially ruin a scene or our costumes and props could give them quite a fright. 

 The back streets of Manchester does have an almost eerie feel about it as it is anyway so I can definitely say shooting there at dusk/night time will definitely add to the fear factor of our film. We can come across graffiti and abandoned buildings, litter or smashed up/boarded up shops. This will greatly add to the mise en scene of our trailer and hopefully make it look more realistic/believable.

These are all pictures of the streets of Manchester City Centre and places that I am hoping to find or at least somewhere similar for my work.

Research and Planning: Meeting 2/ Proposals

Idea One:
Main character is female, trying to survive in post apocalyptic world. Fighting zombie like creatures and trying to find the people who created the outbreak.

Mise En Scene

• Backstreets, alleys, dirty abandoned city.
• Bio-hazard posters
• Low key lighting
• Tight fitting (leather?) clothing
• Weapons: Machine gun, Machete, baseball bat

Sound

• Zombie Moans
• Fast pace electric guitar based music
• Fighting sound effects
• Gun shot
• Sword 'swipes'

Editing

• Fast editing
• Jump cuts to form a montage
• Straight cuts if dialogue is used
• Slow motion to show heightened senses

Cinematography

• A mixture of high and low angles of main character so we can relate
• Close ups of reactions and 'smirk'
• Over the shoulder shots of Zombies
• Mixture of perspectives 
• Tight framing to make it seem like there are more zombies

Idea 2:
Girl out partying and generally having a good time. She then wakes up in basement, can't remember the night before and is tied to a chair.

Mise en Scene

• Bright lights at party
• Low Key lighting in basement some source of light highlighting her
• Smeared makeup
• Party outfit including broken high heels from trying to escape
• Rope and a chair

Sound

• Dripping water
• Heavy breathing
• Creaky steps 
• Loud party music
• Slow, creepy scene setting music

Editing

• Fast editing at the party
• Slow editing in basement 
• Fade to basement scene
• Blurred perspective

Cinematography

• Canted angle to show disorientation
• Shot from high angle to make her look vunerable
• Extreme close up of eyes
• Long shot to establish the scene and show the situation the girl is in.

Research and Planning: Costume Ideas

We wanted our character to give off the impression that she is a strong woman who can handle herself in a post apocalyptic world. However we also couldn't help but fall into the trap of also giving her some sex appeal and making her fall prey to the male gaze. When in real life it would definitely be more practical to have her dressed in something along the lines of combat trousers and a sweatshirt, we want to dress our character in something.. smaller. We are thinking of using something tight fitting and possibly leather or leather looking.

Research and Planning: Editing Idea

I found this trailer for the video game Alice:madness returns and I enjoyed the pace and editing style. I chose to add this to my blog as I hope to use some ideas from this in my own film trailer. Although on our extremely low budget it would be almost impossible to recreate the special effects we see here I enjoy the sudden change from almost day to night. This is something I would like to recreate. I particularly enjoy the feel of almost good-bad we get from the character.

I would definitely like to use 0.48-0:56 as this is a clear representation of what I want my character to be.

Research and Planning: Podcast 1