My Editing

Today I wanted to experiment with an idea that came to mind after having struggled with this clip and its transitions. I edited using Premier Pro and used both a 'cross-fade' on beginning and end of the clip and an 'echo' effect to distort and, through duplication, overlap a clip, distorting the  time in the clip and making a ghostly effect

Here's the video out come:

Sounds 6

During the clips involving both our characters, I needed to find a suitable build-up of a non-diagetic sound that would intrigue the audience to watching the rest of our film - a sort of narrative hook but evoked through sound.

Here's some sounds that I found in Logic Pro:

I particularly enjoy 6 because the sound stretches and gradually creeps in and builds successfully to the climax. I have already attempted to merge this non-diagetic sequence with the clips:

Sound, as I've just exhibited, is an immensely important feature in any sequence because it exposes the audiences senses to suggested information through non-diagetic sound. This non-diagetic sound can suggest a negative relationship between both characters or that a negative event is about to happen; I've used this particular sound to create suspense and imply a negative atmosphere to the audience.

Sounds 5

As you've probably guessed, I've chosen number 8 in a previous post to be the non-diagetic background sound for my radio report.

I have combined this, the beginning sound and the recorded voice-over to complete the report:

This example is taken from our edited clips so far. Editing's going really well and Patrycja's doing a great job of it. We both regularly sit together whilst we share in viewing and commenting on each others progress. One of the main things we focus on is getting the audio and video transitions to run smoothly, so far we've got all the filming out on the time-line in Premier Pro and are going step by step to get the transitions to the highest quality we can with our current skills.

Sounds 4

Concerning our distributors, FILM4 and MIRAMAX, we have used their video but have changed their original non-diagetic sounds and used our own.

Here's a before and after of each sequence:

I believe the non-diagetic sounds used merge well together and suit our Thriller-Horror genre because they build suspence and intrigue - not giving too much away to the audience.

 

Sounds 3

I'm focusing on the background beat for the radio report, having already found my beginning to it.
 
Here's some Beats and rhythms that I've discovered using Logic Pro:

My favourite beat is number 8. It's not too clubby and not too serious - it maintains the immediacy and importance of the report whilst also remaining contemporary.

Let me know what you think if you disagree, Thanks! 

Sounds 2

Continuing to use the violins I added the breath that merges with our slow motion production titles as the tissue blows away:

I wanted to add something simple to give this mix more depth I experimented with adding a heart beat. Once completing this, I exported this sounds into an mp3 file format and gave it to Patrycja who imported this new sound onto Premire Pro. We then edited the sound in with the clips and editing we've already done:

 I'm satisfied with this beginning and I'm looking forward to further construction of our opening sequence.

Sounds 1

I began merging and creating loops within Logic Pro.
My aim was to find and create a mix that to suits the opening shots involving the train that myself and Patrycja have edited together, (Patrycja uses Premier Pro to edit and I help or oversee what she's done to see if there are any major improvements to be fixed - you could say I'm acting as an objective perspective).

Here's the mixes that I'm considering:

I'm not entirely sure about this mix because when it's merged with the short beginning sequence it may make the audience believe a really bad events about to happen straight away and mislead/confuse them.

I believe this mix can build tension but is lacking something which, in my opinion, creates a lower level of interest when heard and doesn't really fit our Thriller-Horror genre because of the lack of suspense (its also more like an echoing sound effect and less like the suspenseful mix I'm llistening for).

I'm not as keen on this mix because, although the sounds are interesting and suspenseful individually, as a collective they contrast and collide with each other. I really enjoy the piano sound because it connotes a sense of impending doom for a character - it happens when a villain is enclosing on his/her victim. However I don't want to use this sound in another mix because it can contrast so easily with others - making it harder to find a suitable match.

I enjoy these two violins merged together the most. I want to experiment further with these because they seem more promising than the others. The violins are a contrast to the clips, yet they merge well with it because the ms-en-scene is expected to have a contemporary beat. Whereas, this non-diagetic sound is unexpected and can seem aged creating an eerie and suspenseful atmosphere.

Chosen Actors

After our auditions, we decided who would be our characters:

Marlena = Female Ghost

Marlena suits the role perfectly! She has a brilliant serious face, is obedient when asked to act, is blond and has long hair, has intense eyes, has the right body shape, the right height and is a pleasure to work with. 

Jack = Male Protagonist

Jack also suits the role perfectly! He is tall, is obedient when acting, can act very distressed and serious easily, can use the exact same movements each time acting which help with continuity, has a masculine facial structure and is a joy to work with.

I'm looking forward to filming with these two!

Our character costumes

We initially wanted our female ghost's costume to be similar to the girl in 'The Grudge', wearing a white night gown. This would make her a ghost from decades ago, but the film is set in the modern day, these two different time zones could be confusing for the audience with the connection of the ghost and the present day. This means that we would have to display a flash back or brief history to reveal to the audience that she is from the past; which would help make her character clearer. However, I realised that this would take up too much filming time and would also 'eat up' the precious 2 minute limit we have for our opening sequence.

Therefore, we changed her costume as we wanted the ghost to be modern, fitting with the time period.

She now will wear jeans, a white T-shirt and plain black shoes; looking like a fairly normal girl.

The twist in our costume is that her white top will have rips and blood stains in it and her jeans will also be ripped and blood stained. This is to communicate or suggest to the audience that she was murdered and is a ghost. Her makeup will consist of pale foundation, to achieve a pale complexion - a stereotype for ghosts, and a dark purple eye-shadow smudged around the eyes to create her bruises. The new costume is used to make a more intimidating, creepy character. The audience may also find her creepy because she is relatively normal looking and it could make them feel wary when out in the streets.

Our male protagonist's costume is fairly plain to reflect him as an 'Average Joe' type of guy. This will also create a sense that anyone could be targeted by the Ghost. His costume consists of a white top, orange hoodie, and black winter jacket layered together with denim jeans and white trainers.

I was also thinking that he could have a beer bottle as a prop, displaying that he is over 18 and is stereotyped as masculine. It is also a good idea to have this prop because it gives him an excuse to walk away from the ghost - thinking it's the alcohol. 

We don't need to change or edit our protagonist's costume. We only need to edit our Ghosts one to add the rips and blood. I'm looking forward to doing this with Patrycja and seeing the outcome!

My Layout and Plan for Filming

After previous experiences of the impact of poor planning for filming I decided to create a thorough plan for the filming. I also divided into sections the aspects - busy crowds, traffic, market stalls etc - that I wanted to film to help me understand and be precise with what should be targeted. Saturday is when most of the filming will take place. I know that it will take the whole day to cover everything on the list and thankfully considering the daylight change and continuity, the shots of the clock changing will come in handy - helping the narrative make sense when edited together. In filming, the shots can look a bit sporadic when layed out because not everything goes to plan; there may be a new interesting shot that I didn't think of previously when creating the storyboard or shot list, there may equally be a shot that I can't use due to the impracticality of it etc. I've realised that too much filming is better than too little filming because the more material available grants the editor more to work with. I accept that there will be a large amount of the filming that will be discarded, but I understand that all of the shots are vital for creating the best opening sequence. I'm sure I will make mistakes in the filming, like accidently nudging the camera and having to re-film a shot again, also having to re-film a shot numerous times because of bad continuity. I realise that, as a large and vastly populated area, Camden will be crowded and I will have to wait a while in some shots when doing double shots for the ghosts because I don't want the same people in them - creating bad continuity. I'm prepared for any unplanned, spontaneous shots and I'm really looking forward to the filming!

It's forecast to rain on Saturday - perfect pathetic fallacy for our beginning sequence and narrative - although quite a difficult task for filming...I'm sure I'll get through it! I'm starting filming at 10am and don't expect to finish until approximately 7.30pm.

For Sunday's filming, Patrycja and our actors will be joining me. It's again forecast to rain and I've made sure we will all be wrapped up warm and have umbrella's at the ready! The timing is essential and we are scheduled to meet up at 5pm at Camden station when it's a darker setting. I have taken into consideration that our female ghost will need some prep for adding the ghostly makeup and Patrycja and I have made sure we have the right type of makeup - dark eye-shadow and pale foundation - including the costume. I hope that we will all get to the filming and won't be distracted by conversation or anything and will just get to work!

Anyway, here's my plan hope you like it!

Keep following and feel free to feedback thanks :)

Group meeting 5 The Concept

The basic outline of our narrative is a female ghost haunting a young male. However, concerning our 2 minute opening sequence, we realise that we can't show the full story and can only introduce it.

As conventions of an opening sequence, we have begun with establishing the location, a city - London - and specific location Camden Town, via shots of the London underground, crowds, streets, markets etc which is inspired by Hitchcock's North by North West film. This we want to continue for half of our opening sequence as it is setting up the atmosphere and mood of the film.

Beginning with the underground we want to take the audience along a journey. We have planned our first LS shot to be of a train entering the station to symbolise the beginning of a journey. We then will have various shots of the public entering and exiting the train, going up the stairs via a circular mirrors reflection - a less advanced version of Hitchcock's but I want to use reflection in the opening sequence - and exiting the station. This is where we take the audience on a journey along the street, using a variety of shot types and angles. During the daylight changes we display a clock to reiterate that time is moving and the audience are moving with it. Shots of Camden market follow to help display that business is moving, London's culture is vast and it's night life is alive. By getting shots of the Ghost across the street from the market, we want the audience to focus on her, wondering who she is and her relevance to the story. Then we see our protagonist walking by, noticing the ghost and walking away like it was his imagination. Little does he know that the ghost has seen him, by an extreme CU shot of her eyes the audience see her glare at his walking figure. We want the audience to understand that he has been targeted by her. Once at home, the protagonist listens to the radio and hears a description of the ghost, he begins to realise that he saw her, is panicking and that's when our opening sequence ends.

Within our whole sequence we will have overlapping shots of crowds to make it look like there are ghosts in the city and not just our Ghost character. This makes our film interesting, acting as a narrative hook, and may connote that there are ghosts everywhere, hopefully freaking out the audience as they never know who's watching.

We have used Toderov's theory in our piece. Beginning with 'normal' life, equilibrium, another day in London. The overlapping of shots occur suggesting a disruption of the equilibrium/ norm, via ghosts. Our female Ghost is seen through an extreme CU and, via the threatening look she gives the protagonist, the audience know something will happen, an event that will create chaos in his life and possibly other lives. However, we haven't involved an event caused by the ghost in our opening sequence because we want our audience to keep watching and see what happens. Our genre is Thriller-Horror and, like The Woman in Black, no action has to be seen for a film to be suspenseful.

Realisation

Here's roughly what I said and talked about if you didn't catch everything or had some technical problems:

I've realised and discussed this with Patrycja that we don't need Big Ben to display the time for our opening sequence. Yes, it  is a landmark, but we are planning to film whilst red buses and black taxi cabs are going by - those are just some of the indicators to the audience that the location is London.  As I really want the time to be displayed in our opening sequence, through fading effects in editing, I can just take shots of one clock and change the time on the clock for each shot, illustrating that time is moving and life is going on to the audience : simple!

I find it's a great contrast having life shown via the traffic, crowds, market and general busy city atmosphere, with ghosts, i.e death, displayed via overlapping of shots and re-appearing and disappearing characters through editing - fantastic - as our film brings both ends and extremes of the spectrum together. This is intended to promote further intrigue from our audience and make our production unique.

I think the clock is a good idea because it reiterates to the audience that London is a busy place, time is moving constantly helping to give it a realistic feel, by adding something that the audience would relate to - not having enough time - whilst also suggesting a countdown that is intended to provoke suspense. Also, I'd quite like to film at different times during the day to get the daylight change, the clock will help with the continuity and flow of narrative.

Not only have I realised that, we also don't need to film in Central London - Oxford Street - because it would highly complicate the filming and crowd continuity. Considering this, I find that a perfect local location would be Camden Town because of it's expression of culture, busy atmosphere  and it's vast filming space, filled with balconies to film from, getting various view points, making our whole sequence interesting and unique.It's not as busy as Central, which helps the filming process quicken.
I'm considering my plan for filming and will post it soon.

Thanks for following :)

Sound Experimentation 2

I've experimenting with the ambient city sounds more and asked Patrycja to listen with me:

Picture of Patrycja and me listening

I really like what I've come up with here's the sound:

Here's some feedback from it:

I think it creates the tension for the audience and the busy atmosphere that cities have. It's almost like it's got a rhythm to it, a heartbeat, which is why I like it. But I'm not sure if we are actually going to use it yet because we may change to an easier location with the filming, which will slightly impact the atmosphere and thus the non-diagetic sound.

I also really like the exhale that I found on Logic Pro, I hope it's good enough for our opening sequence's titles.

Here it is:

Let me know what you think to it via comment or I might just have to interview you!

Sound Experimentation 1

Whilst Patrycja was editing for our first filmed clips, I took initiative to experiment with Logic pro. I wanted to find any ambient city sounds that could be merged together to add to a clip; cars, traffic, overlapping conversations etc. I also wanted to find the sound of someone exhaling for the title as it fades out. I think this would be eerie for the audience as it's a normal sound, slowed, and used in a creepy way; possibly linking to our ghosts theme. It also reiterates that the titles are fading, like breath leaves the body. Anyway it's just a thought.

Here's a screen shot of what I found:

Experimenting with Logic Pro

I'm starting to get the hang of Logic Pro more as I experiment. I will be uploading the sounds I am considering using soon, but if I'm not satisfied with the exhale I will just have to record it myself!

Storyboard

Here's the storyboard that Patrycja did:

It looks very detailed and well thought out. I'm looking forward to using it during filming!

Radio Report Script 2

After recording the script using the camera myself, I uploaded the video's onto Premier Pro today. Patrycja and I then listened to the clips and discussed which ones to use:

Listening to first recordings of 'Radio Report', using Premier Pro

Having discussed, we realised that we needed to change the script as it didn't seem flow properly. This is shown in the following.

Firstly, we annotated it:

Amendments made to 'Radio Report'

Secondly, we made the changes in Microsoft Office Word:

Good evening, all you Londoner’s! I’m Dawn Cope and you’re listening to ‘Look out’ Radio’s 60-second news updates

Have you recently seen anything unusual?
We have reports of sightings in Oxford Street of a young female, early teens, wearing a ripped, blood stained, white night gown.
She is said to have marks across her face and skin, possibly abrasions or bruising.
She is also said to have long dark, matted hair.
If you believe you have seen this girl, or someone of a similar description, please do not hesitate, report immediately to your local Police Station and Lookout Radio…

Heading today’s 'More Money Than Sense' is Katie Price, who has recently bought a new 9 and a half thousand pound handbag and says it’s “a splash of cash for my little Princess”

Thirdly, I recorded it again and uploaded it to Premier Pro:

Listening to second recording of 'Radio Report', using Premier Pro

Hopefully we are done with editing the script!

Feedback appreciated, keep following thanks :)

Radio Report Script 1

I wanted to conduct research on Radio stations and how their reports or sentencing is crafted. So I listened to various clips on YouTube to get an understanding of how I should structure my own:

Radio News Reporting Project 5#
BBC THREE, 60 seconds news update 01

I have a better understanding of how Radio's construct their information. The presenters introduce themselves, the Radio station and can state the time, also advertising certain products and merchandise. However, as I'm intending to do a 60 second news update, I realise that the information needs to be said at a fast pace and must contain no waffle - sticking to the point and facts.
I've listened, watched and focused upon some more 60 second news updates, here's the links:

BBC THREE, 60 seconds news update 02
BBC THREE, 60 seconds news update 03
60 Seconds News Update
GT ONLINE, 60 Seconds News Update

Their introduction's are very brief and can state the time of update but don't always seem to because of the limited amount of time. The presenters pace of voice doesn't seem to really matter, as-long as they state all of the information given within the time limit. I think a presenter can have an accent, as-long as the information is clear for the listener. A slower pace may be used to allow listeners to process the information more. Also, I've noticed that the presenters pause in between stories - indicating each different update to the listener. I will need to create my own sound to announce the 60 second news update for the protagonist and our audience. I'm planning to do this using Logic Pro.

Here's the result:

Good evening, all you Londoner's! You're listening to 'Look out' Radio's 60 second news updates
I'm (NAME)
Have you recently seen anything unusual?
We have reports of sightings in Oxford Street of a young female, early teens, wearing a ripped, blood stained, white night gown.She is said to have marks across her face and shin, possibly abrasions or bruising.She is also said to have long dark matted hair.Unfortunately, we cannot give further details due to the lack of information received from members of the general public.
If you believe you have seen this girl, or someone of a similar description, please do not hesitate to get in contact with your local Police station and Lookout Radio...

Katie Price has recently bought a new 9 and a half thousand pound handbag and says "it's a splash of cash for my little Princess"

I wanted to immediately ascertain a rough time estimate and audience location within the first sentence. I wanted the audience to know that this was a 60 second update - as the normal music played and was interrupted a listener would need to be notified why or what it was interrupted by. Then beginning with the story I tried my best to decrease the waffle, getting straight to the point. By questioning the audience I intended to grasp their attention and intrigue, adding my own twist to the 60 second news update. I then moved on to Katie Price - at this point I intend the volume of the non-diagetic Radio to decrease through editing as the audience follow the protagonists reaction; closing our opening sequence.
I realise that this is only the 'skeleton' of the script and that it will be improved over time.

I have recorded multiple clips of this on camera and will edit it soon. I realise that this will most likely need improving and or tweaking to get it to a high standard and the best quality to make it a believable Radio for our audience.

Thanks for reading, hope the see some helpful feedback :)

Final Title for Opening Sequence

I found that the naming of our film wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Patrycja and I both wanted something that would fit with our story-line and would also go with the theme of ghosts. Yes, the element of revenge is heavily focused upon in our synopsis, however, we didn't want the title to be 'Revenge' as it would give away the main theme. I wanted to focus upon the fact that we have a ghost in our opening sequence. So, we both considered our own ideas for the title. This did take a while as we wanted to be very specific. I mean we wanted the title to provoke intrigue and suggest an element of suspense, whilst also using a font or graphic effect to set the pace for the audience and help them identify what our genre is and what our film will contain via the title. I came up with 'The Forgotten', as ghosts are people who have passed away and remain stuck in the world possibly for so long that society forgets them - it seems to be appropriate for our narrative, as our unnamed female ghost is trapped and is forgotten by society until the events within our opening sequence occur.

Concerning the look of our title we both wanted something edgy that seemed either unnatural or have an eerie sense when seen. Mulling over a selection of fonts from Patrycja's research on fonts we then decided to agree on this:

I really like the aesthetic of the title because it's, faded, smudged, has a broken glass effect on some letters, some splatter effects, seems used, dirty, seems unnaturally crafted, seems intimidating and gripping; provoking intrigue. I think it is perfect for our story-line, fitting the genre, the unnatural element in our film and really gives a feel that something isn't right, there is disequilibrium and a sense of impending doom for the audience.

We both wanted to use a black font colour and not red because that is associated with the Horror genre, also we enjoyed the look of the black because it gives an impression of something dark, mysterious, it gives our title an edge, adds intrigue and is used to create an inhuman eerie atmosphere.

I hope you've enjoyed my thoughts on this and our developments so far, thanks :)

Idea for our Opening sequence Title

My idea for the title of our opening sequence is 'The Forgotten'. I thought this would be good because I think a ghost is forgotten and it really relates to our film.
I think it could have a ghostly effect, possibly looking like fog and then this could be enhanced in editing via the title blowing away with a non-diagetic exhale. The fog disappearing would reflect the title as the whole concept of forgetting something is that it's lost or gone. I'm interested in a non-diagetic exhale because it's a common sound that can make an atmosphere creepy or tense for an audience; which is what I think it would do when merged with our title.

I researched different effects for the title:

I really like the 'smoke' image as it could be adopted and changed to look like fog, we could base our effect on it and experiment with it if we want to use this type of effect for our title.

I also liked the pictures with a grey foggy shape over the screen. It would be quite interesting to fade the title into a shot using this because it would intrigue an audience and create a supernatural atmosphere; which is what we're aiming for.

Thanks, feedback and keep following :)

Name of Company

I wanted to have a production representing the Thriller-Horror genre, the name had to be something that reflects intense, suspenseful moments and unexpected events; notorious elements of the genre.

Patrycja thought the company could be called 'Unexpected Productions' because thats what a Thriller-Horror can be. However, I thought that would be too typical, as I think that's generally the first word that would come to mind about Thriller-Horrors.

I wanted to reflect something that a Thriller-Horror audience would feel or say when watching a suspenseful moment, possibly a character that has someone behind them who is about to attack? Suddenly, 'Look Out' came to mind, I discussed what I thought about it and why I thought it would be a good choice and we settled with it.

Patrycja experimented with different fonts and colours and we decided that our group name would look like this:

This layout was chosen baring in mind we have ghosts in our opening sequence and waned to reflect that with our production name. Also, this design immediately helps the audience identify that the film about to be seen is both scary and mysterious. I feel that this will draw the audience's intrigue and will make them want to find out what it is about.

Thanks please leave feedback :)