My Filming Experience

For me my filming experience was mainly behind the camera, as a result of breaking my arm just a week or so before filming. All my group were incredibly helpful and understanding about what I could and couldn't do. So for the times when I was able to come, they allowed me to film some of the scenes as it was one of the only things I could do. By the time it came to editing we had created our rough cut draft but then after hearing certain aspects of the feed back, realised that we had to go back to Rusne's house to re-film a few scenes, to make it more clear to the audience. Overall, I believe that our group was very organised from the start and although there was a major disruption to the filming and planning because I was in and out of hospital, even when I had my operation my group made sure to text message me to let me stay up to date with all the changes that had been made since I was away. At the very beginning of filming and drafting up film ideas everyone had their own idea to how the film would have turned out, I know we are all happy with our final outcome.

Me filming the 'friends meeting up and going to the campsite in Highgate woods'



Music we will be using

We have found the music that we want to use and the creator of the song has replied to us and told us that we are able to use his songs. For our film we want to use four different types of songs for the four different characters.Below I have included a screenshot of Thesecession's comment allowing us to use their songs.

Here is a link to Thesecession's offical YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/thesecession

Music we want to use

Today we started searching for the music we want to use in our own film. What we first decided to do was search on Creative Commons theough Soundcloud but we did not find the type of music that we wanted. But we did find one song but there was no download button which means that we are not able to use it. But then we read the description where the person has said that he does not own rights to the song an he has downloaded the song from TheSeccision's offical YouTube. What we then decided was to ask the creator of the song whether we would be able to use it for our own film. We are now waiting for a reply. 

Character profile: Aaron

Aaron is played by Shahed. Aaron is the guy in school who's known for his sports. He's the leader of his football team and during his weekends he plays baseball with friends. He's the top of his class for sports but I can't say the same thing for all other subjects. He's been so focused on getting a sochloship at Loughborough University that he hasen't had time to study for other subjects. In year 8 Aaron and Katie were in the same class for science and that's how they became so close and through Katie he met Chloe. Aaron started to drift apart from Jack and Katie and become closer with Chloe. Then in year 11 they became very close again and they all ended up going to the same college. Aaron is excited for the camping trip because he's had a crush on Chloe for years and now he'll finally be able to spend time with her. When he finds out that Jack is coming he won't be too happy.

Character profile: Chloe

Chloe is played by Safia. Chloe is the girl in school that everyone likes. The girls want to be her and the boys want to be with her. But what she lacks is brains. She's so focused on being popular that she has no time to revise or even try at school. In year 7 that's when her popularity began when everyone in the school knew who Chloe was. Even though she's popular she's only close to a few people. Her bestfriend is Katie. They've known eachother since they were little kids and their friendship has grown and grown through the years. Ever since year 9 she's always had conflicts with Jack because she always felt like there was something odd about him. What Katie does not know is that Chloe has had a massive crush on Aaron for years now. That's why she's so excited to be going on a camping trip with her crush.

Character profile: Jack

Jack is played by Tho who is one of our friends who we asked to help us with filming our film. Jack is the boy in school who only has a few friends. He's the boy that everyone else thinks is weird or creepy. Except for Katie who's always been his friend. Ever since year 7 they've been friends and Katie has stayed friends with him even through all the conflicts he had with Chloe and Aaron. Jack dosen't do that well in school,low grades and bad behaviour is what causes him to be in the lowest sets for all of his subjects. He's been bullied a few times by his classmates calling him names beause they find him creepy. His home life has been hard,his parents went through a divorce when he was young and that is the reason for his bad behaviour now. He's always blamed his parents for everything bad that has happened in his life. He spends a lot of time in his room by himself,which might be the reason why he becomes the way that he is now and the reason why he murders his friends on the camping. Even the one friend who's stuck by him.

Character profile: Katie

Katie who is played by Rusne is a girl who's outgoing,adventrious and ambitious. She's what you would call a "nerd". She's always been a perfect student in school. In school she always contributes to group discussions but work better indepdently. This is because she knows where she wants to get in life and what she needs to do to achieve it. Her ambition is to become a doctor and that is why she spends so much of her free time studying. She has a big group of friends but her bestfriends are Jack,Chloe and Aaron. She's always been close to Jack even when he was involved with conflicts with Chloe and Aaron. In school there used to be a lot of conlicts between the three of them and Katie always used to be in the middle of them. Because of this she does not tell Chloe and Aaron that she invited Jack on their camping trip. When they find out Katie invited Jack i'm sure they'll be angry but it'll be worth it because all of her bestfriends will be in one place.

My filming experience

When we first told by our teachers that we have to make a pitch for our film I was quite scared because it all seemed to be happening so quickly and it seemed that we have a lot to do in such little time. But then when we created our pitch I realised that if we work hard we would be able to finish our film in a week or two. We started filming last Wednesday where we filmed my part, who plays the character of Katie. I thought that filming on that day was successful because we were able to film very good shots and angles in a very short amount of time. We also filmed yesterday where we filmed the scene of the killer and the princess. One problem that we came across was that me and shahed had different ideas for how we wanted to film the scene of the killer. To resolve this problem we decided that I would film it the way that I wanted and he also did the same and when we start to edit our film we will then decide which shot is better suited for the film. We also came across the problem of not using enough props so that was why we decided to re film Safia's scene today with her using a suitcase this time. And then the last day of filming was today where we filmed the scene of Jack on the bus and the scene where all of the characters meet at the woods. I think that overall filming has been successful because we have recorded some interesting shots and we have finished filming ahead of when we thought we would. I think that the reason for why we have been successful is because through this week we have all communicated with each other well. What our group has to do now is edit our film and we will start on Monday the 24th of February.

Filming day 4

Today our whole group met up at Angel station. What we wanted to do in the morning was to re-record Safia's scene because when watching our footage back yesterday we thought of a different way to film her scene. And also yesterday we did not have a suitcase but today we brang a suitcase so that Safia can use it as a prop. As Safia plays the character of Chloe who is the princess, who dresses up inappropriately for a camping trip. Then we travelled to Highgate woods so that we could finish filming the scene where the three characters meet at the woods and where Katie texts Jack saying to meet them at the camp site because he is running late. Afterwards we got on a bus so that we could film the ending scene of our opening where Jack receives the text from Katie and he has a smirk on his face because he knows what he will do when he gets to the camp site. Today we have finished filming all the parts of our film, now from Monday we will be editing our film. Below I have created a video of all the photos from today that we took to use as evidence.

Vlog day 3

This is our first vlog for our filming process. We will be making more for our other filming days and also when we will be editing our film. 

Filming day 2 and 3

Yesterday Shahed and Tho met up to film the scene of Aaron leaving his house and where he gets a phone call from Chloe who tells him that she'll see him later on.Today me(rusne),Safia,Shahed and our friend Tho met up in the morning. As Paige had a hospital appointment today she was not able to come. Our plan for the day was to film the scene of the killer and the scene of where Chloe is leaving her house and she calls Aaron to tell him how excited she is about the camping trip. We first all went over to Tho's house who plays the character Jack. In his house we filmed the scene of the killer where he packs his clothes for the camping trip and he also packs a knife. For this scene we filmed it from many different angles and used close ups and medium shots so that when we are editing we can then decide which shot we will use. Afterwards we went to Safia's and filmed her part of her leaving her house while on the phone to Aaron. We then decided to go to Highgate woods to film the trees, this shot will then be used for the very opening of our film where the name of the film and the director will be introduced. Filming today was successful because we were able to finish what we planned to do for the day. Tomorrow will hopefully be our last day of filming because we only have two more scenes to film. Tomorrow we will all be meeting up as a group at Angel station and travelling to Highgate woods to finish the last part of our film.

Changes made today

Since yesterday we have been discussing as a group on ways that we can change our opening to make it more interesting for the viewer. First of all we have changed the location of where we will be filming, we first wanted to film in Lee Valley camp-site but we decided that it would be too far to travel for us with all of the filming equipment. So what we decided was to film in Highgate woods because it is close to where we live which means that it is easy for us to travel there with all of the equipment.  We have decided to take out the scene of the characters travelling on the train and we have changed this to just Jack(the killer) travelling on a bus to Highgate woods.In this scene he also receives a text from Katie saying that they've already arrived so he should just meet them at the camp-site. This connects all of the characters together to make it clear to the viewer that all of the characters are going on the same camping trip. We have also decided to use a suitcase as the piece of luggage that Safia (chloe) will bring to show that she plays the character of the princess. We hope that by making these changes we will be able to get a better mark for our coursework.

Instagram and Facebook

Recently I have created a instagram account and a Facebook account. On instagram we will be uploading photos and videos of what we are doing on set, interviews with the characters and what to expect from our film. On Facebook we will be writing about our film and what to expect from it. We have now created an event for the 25th of March as being the release date for our film. 

Planning for half term

On Wednesday the 19th we will hire out the cameras and other equipment from our college. We plan to film  most of our scenes on Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st. If we are not able to finish everything then we will also have the weekend. On Thursday we are planning to film the scene of the nerd and the killer and the scene of where they all meet at Essex road station. Then on Friday we plan to film the scene of them all arriving at Lee Valley campsite.

The weather forecast shows that it might rain on both of the days that we are planning to film. If on the day it does rain then we will have to reschedule and film on another day. This is because most of what we have left to film has to be filmed outside. We will keep updating our blog with planning and vlogs of what we are doing and when. 

Filming day 1

Today morning we all met up. What we we were able to film was the scene of the nerd. We were able to film this scene quickly but we did use some interesting shots. What we decided to film was a shelf with a lot of books and the books contrast with the character of the nerd. This shot could be used in the title sequence where all of the actors are introduced. What we then filmed was the scene of the nerd where she is packing all of her stuff for the camping trip and also when she texts Aaron(jock) about how excited she is about this trip. I think that in the short amount of time that we had this morning we were able to film a lot and filming today was successful.

Wednesday planning

This Wednesday we are planning to film the scene of the nerd. This scene will be filmed in one of our houses, so in the morning on Wednesday we will all meet up and travel to one of our houses so that we can film. As there is a scheduled tube strike from tomorrow evening until Friday morning we are not sure if we will be able to film on Wednesday morning as some of us live very far away. Tomorrow we will decide what we will be doing on Wednesday, if we are not able to film this Wednesday then we will film next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Evidence of editing: Our production logo

Research: Interesting shot types and angles

I decided to research some interesting camera shots and camera angles which we might be able to use when filming our own film.

Camera Shots
- A full shot contains a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers can take in the costumes of characters and many also help to demonstrate the relationship between characters. This type of shot could be used when filming the scene when all of the characters arrive at the camp site.

- A mid shot contains the characters or a character from the waist up. From this shot, viewers can see the character's faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. This type of shot could be used when we film all of the characters meeting in front of the train station.

- An extreme close-up contains a part of a character's face or other object. This technique is quite common in horror films. This type of shot creates an intense mood and provides interaction between the audience and the viewer. This type of shot could be used when we see all of the characters packing a leaflet for the music festival which is happening at the camp site. This leaflet will connect all of the characters.

Camera Angles

- A low angles is a camera angle that looks up at a character. This is the opposite of a high angle and makes a character look more powerful.This can make the audience feel vulnerable and small by looking up at a character. This could be used when filming the arrival of the killer.

Research

Over the weekend i decided to do some research on different areas that we have to consider when making our own film. such as camera effects and shots, editing, mise en scene and sound. I done this to get an idea of what we need to include and consider when filming.

 

Research: creating our own production logo

I used Adobe after effects to create my logo. I had to do a lot of research before making it because I did not know much about how to it. I came across a video on YouTube which shows how you can create your own logo which was very helpful.

Our own production company

I decided to make our own production company logo for our film. This will be the logo that we use in the beginning of our film

Reflection post

I have now realised how important blogging is and how I have to keep up to date with all of my blog posts. When we first started I did not really complete the blogging tasks when they were meant to be finished and because of this I fell a bit behind everyone else in my class. In the past month I have caught up with all of the work that I missed and I have also re-done some of my previous work. I have tried to use different types of technology while blogging including gifs, prezi, slideshare and timetoast. I now understand that for me to be able to get a good grade I have to keep up to date with all of my tasks and I have to do a lot more extra work outside of lessons.

Reflection Post

I have recently started to blog more often and have done lots of research and planning for my film, I am up to date on most of my posts and I have also posted extra blogging posts as well as the ones that I was asked to do. In my previous post I have uploaded a video of a title sequence if screen gems produced our film. I will post another title sequence with our own production company so that it is not copyright. I will consider improving the length of time the text stays up so the audience will have time to read as it was going too fast from the feedback I got. Before I started media I wouldn't of known how to use after effects or any other editing tools to create these piece of media. I gave my hours on learning how to use these programmes so that I could make my work look more professional.

Screen Gems Title sequence

This is a title sequence that I have created with adobe after effects. This shows how our title sequence for 'JACK' would look like if Screen Gems produced our film. No sound apart from screen gems has been added yet.

Reflection post

I am starting to realise the importance of blogging now, i have started to blog alot more regularly and coming up with my own posts as well as doing the ones set by my teacher. At the beginning of blogging I was very behind on my posts but now I am completing all the old posts and applying the knowledge and skills I have learnt. In my day to day life I am becoming more aware of different shots and camera angles while watching TV and movies. I shall continue to blog regularly and my goal is to use more media platforms to show my work on. An idea my group and I have come up with is to vlog while filming our teen horror to show the process and express our work through different forms of media.

Title font research

We came up with the title 'Jack' and as our film is a horror i searched up different fonts for the title that would give the impression to the audience that our film is a horror. However i think Red would of suited better but the website i was on would not allow me to change the colour.

                                                               

Popular teen horror films

Here are just some popular teen films. I have watched most of these films to learn more about interesting camera shots and angles used in horror films and the type of sounds and music most commonly used.

Pitch feedback

Today we presented our pitch to one of our media teachers. After we finished we got some feedback from our teachers and other students. Our media teacher told us that we should research music that would be more suited to the killer and that we should use 4 different types of music for the 4 different characters that we have. The 4 characters are the jock, the killer, the princess and the nerd. Some other feedback that we got was to use more props during filming. This might include sleeping bags, plastic cups and plates, and a tent if we are able to borrow one from one of our friends.

PITCH

This is our final presentation. This is the presentation that we presented to our teacher.

Planning final project: Production schedule

Tuesday 11th - On this day we will be recording the scene of the nerd. This scene will be filmed in one of our houses.

Wednesday 12th - On this day we will be recording the scene of the jock. This will also be filmed in one of our houses.

Wednesday 19th - On this day we will all meet at Essex Road station so that we can film the scene of where they all meet and travel.

Thursday 20th - On this day we will all go to Lee Valley campsite and record the last scene of our film. 

Planning final project: Location photos

An alley way next to Safia's house

Highgate woods

Planning final project: Actors

Actors: 

Aaron:

Chloe:

Katie:

Jack: 

Planning final project: Props

As our film is about a group of teenagers who go on a camping trip we figured that we would need camping equipment. Other props that we will use are:

- Phones

- Backpacking bags

- Handbag

- A knife

- Watch

- Sandwiches

- Plastic plates

- Sleeping bags

- Leaflet about the music festival 

Planning final project: Animatic Storyboard

In this version we have not included a title sequence. In the title sequence we will add the names of the actors, production companies, distribution companies and the director's name. In this version we have also not added music because we will be using different music for all the different characters. In another post we will show the music we have chosen.

Planning Final Project: Evidence

Today we were putting our pitch together. During our pitch we had to include a brief outline of our movie,pictures of costumes and props and our own storyboard. When we first started doing our pitch we had a clear idea of an idea for a film we would like to do. But then when we talked to our teachers Mary and Dan we changed our idea completely. Our original idea was very complicated and there was a lot of action, then we decided to change our idea. Our teacher Dan showed us a couple of teen horror film trailers so that we can get inspiration from them. One of the teen horror films that he showed us was a film made by students in media from 2 years ago. What we saw from their film is that they had a very clear idea of what they wanted to achieve and they made a very clear plan and film schedule. In their film they used many different camera shots and angles and this inspired some of the shots that we have included in our storyboard. These are just two photos to show evidence of us creating our pitch.

Planning final project: Storyboard

This is our finished storyboard for our own film. The title of our film is Jack and it is the story of four teenagers who decide to go on a camping trip. 

Planning final project: Ideas

Our film genre is teen horror, we watched film openings from Prom night, The blair witch project and The bling ring which inspired us to come up with our idea. The title of our film is 'JACK' this is because these are the first letters of all the characters names Jack, Aaron, Katie and Chloe. Our movie is about a group of 4 teenagers who decide to go to a music festival and also decide to camp there. What they don't expect to face is obstacles on the way. The opening of the film shows the characters getting ready and packing their stuff for the trip. What they don't expect if for one their friends to bring something dangerous. The movie follows the group of teenagers on their trip while they get separated, lost and killed one by one.

Research: music and sound

In lesson today my teacher introduced creative commons, a website where we can get free music for our films legally. So i went on to the webiste and checked out different sounds i think that would work for a teen horror.



  This is more playful than scary however because our target audience is teenagers this could fit in with a teen movie.



  This is very mysterious piece, i think it would work well in a scene where someone is trying to escape or running or even to try and show intensive thinking.

  This music is great to flow over a long period of time and this could also build up tension.