Shot List

Shot List

Equipment

Equipment

Camcorder

Canon Legria HF200

For our media work we will use a Canon Legria HF200 that will be recording at native 24p in 1080p HD. We decided that we would only need to use one camcorder for two reasons. Firstly, when looking at the animated storyboard, we only do a 180-degree shot. Secondly, the scene is divided into two locations, which can be shot at separate times. The Canon Legria HF200 films in the format AVCHD. This is a format that is good for working in HD. The camera’s battery pack had to last 100 minutes filming in the highest quality.

Memory Cards

SanDisk 8Gb Ultra II SDHC Card

The type of memory cards that we will be using will be a SanDisk 8Gb Ultra II SDHC Card. SDHC cards are good for storing large amounts of footage, such as HD footage. We will use two SDHC cards in case we fill up the first memory card.

Accessories

RØDE Microphone – VideoMic and RØDE Microphone Mini Boom Pole

We will be using a professional microphone that can remove all background sound. This is useful because the location we are filming in is located near a main road. The boom pole is used to make the microphone closer to the actor and will therefore make his voice clearer. Secondly, it will be beneficial to use if the camera is being moved around in the shot, as it will ensure the audience does not hear the camera operator moving.

Consent Form

Consent Form

Gantt Chart 3

Gantt Chart

Location scouting Photos

First Location

Second Location (1st Photo)

Second Location (2nd photo)

Third Location

Location scouting

When looking for a location to film, we wanted objects in the scene to create the atmosphere. We wanted a large field, with very few of trees and bushes. The first scene of the film consists of a dead tree. Luckily we are in autumn so all the trees will have no leaves, therefore creating the effect of trees looking dead.

We walked around local farmers’ fields to look for our required location, taking photos of different places that maybe suitable. We avoided taking photos that included power lines, housing and roads. We chose to do this to make the location seem if it was a wasteland, a deserted location where people had not been to discover.

We want it to be set at night. Consequently, we discovered we had too many health and safety issues when filming at night, in the middle of nowhere. So we have decided to film during the day and use editing techniques to make it appear that the scene is set at night. We will be using the compositing software, After Effects, to turn day to night. This will save us from filming on a cold January night.

We need three locations. Firstly, a location that includes a tree with a wasteland background, the tree has to be creating the effect of being dead (autumn can help). The second location has to be a wasteland with bushes scattered around the field. To create the wasteland effect, we will use a farmers’ field that is large, empty and clear of the crops being grown. The third location will be a wasteland that is very large and clear of crops. We have knowledge of different locations where we could film, however, to get a location that does not include man-made objects (power lines, roads and housing) will be very hard.

We found possible locations to film and have narrowed it down to six areas, which may be suitable for the first scene (waking up). For the second scene (running across field) we found two possible locations for the scene and two possible locations for the last scene of the film. After discussion, we narrowed the list down until we chose our final locations for our film. We may find other locations that are better suited to our description; however, we are both confident that the chosen locations that we have at the moment are fine.

Possible Locations for Film

First scene

Man sitting up

This is located in a field in Broomfield that is situated behind the local Church. This can be accessed by walking through the church towards Goulton Road. The location can also be accessed by going down Goulton Road. The first scene of the film contained a large wasteland with a dead tree. We found a location that did not include a tree but had a very eerie feel to the place. The long grass makes it seem that no one has been their, no man – made objects can be seen, making it appear that there is desolate.

Second location

Looking around

This is located near to the first location (20 meters away). We chose this location because of the atmosphere and the objects around. We loved the twisted metal girders that give the feeling that something was there but that now it has become a deserted wasteland. When looking at the photo, we can see the colours are very dramatic. There are bright shades of green, backed onto the dark grey background. In the tree, we can see very dark shadows making the shot seem scary and eerie.

The second photo of the second location is a photo showing the wide-angle view of the location. The tree looks very supernatural, the size making it seem unnatural. However, the small trunks on the tree make it seem weak and dead. This gives the illusion that the tree cannot even survive the barren environment around it. When filming we will avoid capturing the concrete road next to the tree in our shots.

Third location

Running away /seeing bodies

This location is located between the first and second set. This is a large empty field that is ideal for our ‘running’ scene. The emptiness of the field is crucial to show that the protagonist has no way of escaping. When looking at this location we can see that there are no man-made objects placed around the area, making it a perfect location for our film.

Auditions and Chosen Actor

Here are the three audition videos for the main role of our opening scene. After some discussion, we have decided to take Omena Tayo O' Martins for the main role.

We chose Tayo because we felt he improvised best in the role of our character, and seem the most believable. We also feel his accent would work best for the role, as we originally wanted the characters to on a field trip from London; so his accent will work well for the role.

Tayo's Audition

Prabin's Audition

Tom's Audition

Auditions

Characters in our Film

The protagonist of the opening scene is different from the main antagonists in our film. Since we are only filming the opening to our film, we will only discuss him in this post.

We want the protagonist to be a male teenager, around the age of 16. He will be wearing casual clothes, like you would on an every day basis. This is to show the sudden, unexpectedness of his situation. He will have a wound on his head, and will appear cold and wet, as though he had been left there for a long time. His clothes will be mud covered and wet, to add to the idea that the man has been a
add to the idea that the man has been abandoned in the field.

The antagonist will never properly be seen in the opening scene of our film. If we were to create the entire film, the antagonist would be an older man (around the age of 50), with a stereotypically sinister appearance. His costume would be dark, concealing his identity with some kind of mask. This is a similar idea to other horror films, like Friday the 13th, Scream and Halloween.

Audition schedule

We will be auditioning three people for the role of the protagonist in our opening scene. Each audition will last 10 minutes. This will give us time to take a photo of each actor, watch their audition and give enough time to make sure we see each audition without rushing them.

Here is a schedule of when each audition will take place. Auditioning will start at 11 0 on Thursday 10th December.

Audition 1- 11 0

Audition 2- 11:10

Audition 3- 11:20

Script

For the audition, we are going to get the actors to improvise the first part of the scene. We have chosen to do this because our script contains very little dialogue, so the actor will have to do some improvisation when we are filming the scene.

Filming effects

We have decided to film during the day and use editing techniques to make it appear the scene is set at night. We will be using the compositing software, after effects to turn day to night. This will save us from filming on a cold January night. We felt there where too many health and safety issues when filming at night in the middle of nowhere.

To help us turn day to night we found a tutorial on the internet. The effects artist, Andrew Kramer, who teachers people how to use after effects, has a tutorial website in witch we found a guide on how to do this.

Link - http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/day_to_night_conversion/

Target Audience Profile

Our film is a psychological horror aimed at young adults looking for thrills and suspense. It is most likely to appeal to those from E, D and C2 class grouping. Our film would be classified as a 15 and therefore our target audience would be 16 to 24 year olds. To discover more information, we composed a questionnaire for the public to answer. From doing this we discovered that the average respondent considered that a horror film should be rated 15. We feel that the rating 15 is suitable for our film because there is only mild swearing or violent scenes. Typically 16-24 is the target audience for mainstream horror films and this was correctly reflected in the information we analysed from our results. We noted that a small number of 15 year olds who responded enjoyed watching horror films. We also did background information on the typical target audience and our research showed that a greater percentage of revenue is grossed from this age group.

We have chosen young people for the target audience for a number of reasons. Firstly, our film contains characters of the same age group. The target audience can then watch the film and can relate to the social issues which occur in our film, allowing them to fully empathise with the actor’s narrative and therefore creating a more realistic viewing experience.

Research gathered shows that a growing number of females are enjoying the adrenaline rush that horror films strive to create. We feel we could, therefore, include additional female characters in our film in an attempt to make the female audience more able to relate with issues, which arise in our film and thus allowing them to empathise with the characters.

When analysing our results, we discovered that types of media work that this age range [16 – 24] view are video based websites, for example, YouTube. YouTube is a large online video based website that shows humour, horror and education (‘How To’ programs). We asked the target audience what type of videos they watched on YouTube? A large group of the audience said that they watched comedy videos. However, a small group of the audience said they frequently watched how they made the special effects in films (Saw, Watchman and Iron Man). The film “Saw” was named as the most favourite film of the target audience. This was because the directors managed to achieve a realistic atmosphere, incredibly realistic make-up and believable characters.

Considering how to advertise our film, we asked those who completed our survey where they felt they saw the most advertising for films? Television proved to be the highest rated method of advertising. However a small number of people said they saw most advertising for films whilst in the cinema. If we were going to advertise the film on TV, we would need to create a trailer that the censor would be able to rate as PG, thus allowing any age to watch. However, we would still make the trailer aimed at 16 – 24 year olds if it was going to be shown at a cinema and previewed when they were showing a film of either the same or higher certification.

Film Script

Field Trip Script

Film title decided

After further discussion today, we have managed to come up with a film title which both of us like. The title was a spontanious idea from Matt Thomas. The title we have agreed on is "Field Trip". We feel this title works well, because the main characters in the film are on a field trip, staying in a local hostel.