feedback

show the storyboard. Complete
show the storyboard of the entire film
Reshoot and re-edit the last 3rd of the film
Show more of the planning on the film

Meeting with composer

I had a meeting with the composer of the soundtrack (Helen Wimble) for the film. During the meeting we talked about the style of the music, we chose to create an eerie soundtrack as it will fit the production in terms of style, also the music being eerie will also have an effect on teh audience. We have also discussed the instruments we want to use, mainly focusing on paino during the first draft of the soundtrack. After showing her the film we discussed the timing of the music and how for the opening scene we want to alowly build tension that will be broken when the main character wakes up.
Currently Helen is working on the first draft, which will be shown to us on saturday

These are some notes made by Helen Wimble (the composer)

Opening Sequence First Shoot

This is a reshoot of the dream sequence and the first scene in the house, after he wakes up. This edit allows for us to see the cross cutting between the opening dream sequence and when he wakes up. However this edit misses some aspects of the film that I want. e.g. the non-diegetic music during the dream sequence which will build tension in the scene by becoming more and more dramatic, this sound will then cut to silence when he wakes up. This edit also lacks some diegetic sound, mainly the front door opening, which will indicate the main characters movements down the stairs.
The opening shot of this scene doesn't follow the editing style of the rest of the film
Another area of the film I would like to change is the shot we see the character waking up, I would cut that a few frames forward which would open it with his arm outstreched, this would make the cut a piece of pictoral and continuity editing.
I want to re-edit this edit as I want the point when he opens the door from the outside to start as a closeup then pull away. This will make the area around him feel and look empty and personify his lonely personal feelings.
We are going to do an audio commentry on what we want to change and develop in this edit.

Title ideas

Experimental/Recon Shoot

After doing a small recon shoot, which allows me to see the location in the form of video instead of  a still image story board I have editing some rough footage together in many different ways to see what works best.  I decided to do a recon/experimetnal shoot system instead of a storyboard at this point as the location (the woods) is very hard to map out and storyboard accuratly. And in this shoot I did not focus on sound so there isn't any.

 

In this sequence I like the opening shot where it quickly zooms out, however this does not fit the style of film that I want. I also like using the high angle from the tree where you can see the branch in front, this is beause it makes it feel surreal. The ending of this sequence cuts of as the person touches him, this is because I will cut away from that and onto the main character waking up. The final cut in the sequence would work better if there is a fast manual zoom, which will make it seem as if it is moving into the character and not just cutting across

This is a very simple shot and it uses a single shot tracking around the woods. One of the main issues with this shot is that the main character becomes very hard to see in the scene. However this shot will be cross cut with a shot going up the stairs in the real world house

I like the opening shot of this sequence as it slowly announces the revels the main character. I will also add the sounds of a boy counting over the top to show what they are doing. I also like the shot with the white twigs in the foreground uing a shallow depth of field with the character in the background defocused. I find that it is very similar to some shots in 'Eden' as that uses focus to change it.

 I like the opening shot of this sequence because it allows for the main character to be slowly revealed. I also like to use it because it shows the full size of the tree, making it tower over him, while as it tracks down the character is pulled into full view.

 The second to last shot was used instead of the high angle shot from the tree allows for a closer look at what the character. This shot needed to be cut sooner, when the mix of twigs is in the shot. This is because all of the shots after this long tracking shot are cut too fast making it seem out of order.

In this I attempted an earlier editing but putting it into soft focus to see the effect. This defocused feel doesn't work in the majority of the footage but works wee on the opening shot because that is more surreal as it tilts down from looking at the tree. But I will have to transition into the full focus carefully as a cut would not seem organic

This opening of the film will  be cross cut with a tracking shot going up a set of stairs in the real life boys house. And these sequence would end with the main character waking up in bed after the dream/nightmare. Through all of these test shots I have learnt that to get the best effect I will have to use a steadicam to control the stability of the camera whilst moving.

Dates for filming the dream sequence

11/11/2012 - recon filming for dream shoot at location. Quick footage without the actor to see if the shots and location work before filming properly (video storyboard of shots)

18/11/2012 - filming first draft of the dream sequence. The first version of the dream sequence shot in the wooded area.

Second draft stor board *rough experimental)

 Some experimental/rough drafts of a possible storyboard

Although the story board is rough it shows a more influence over the characters and, from the feedback of the earlier draft I have changed the shots to be tighter around the character and leave much less white space. I have also tightened the door closing shot to a close up of a the lower part of the door with the tail of a black coat disapearing as the door closes. This will imply the presence of another without ruining the suspense. However these drafts are rough and need to be improved, these are just the basic plan.

In the first page I could place the 5th shot inbetween 3 and 4 as it would give a more natural feel of surprise. However it does also work where it is as it allows for the character to move more naturally to the edge of the bed.

Feedback

Analyse films that
Deal with suspense and a reveal
The occult

Don't look now

Blair Witch Project

Experimental Footage

This experimental footage shows the basics of the scene where the boy wakes up in his bed. This experimental footage is to test the shots I are planning to use. From this footage I can see that the first  long shot of the shadowy figure to the right of the screen. However because this character is revealed at the beginning of the film allows the film to loose the suspense behind it. So to avoid this I am going to change the instant character being at the start to just show a shadow or just the door closing. This will allow me to announce that the character is present in the film without showing the character.
The lighting during this sequence change the atmosphere. The bright white light lifts the mood and sets the film during the day. However when we get to the close up of the character on the phone the lighting changes to a darker softer yellow light. I prefer the first light system, however this makes it harder to create suspense.
During the long shot at the begging we see the entirety of the wall. One of the main problems with shot is that there is too much white space to the left. This space draws the eye and pulls focus away from our main character.

From this experimental footage I am going to look into creating suspense without showing a character.