Storyboard

The first shot will be of the main characters feet walking down the street. It will be a low angle shot and we will use panning to follow the direction that the character is walking. We will use the fade in effect to start the clip.

Camera shot angles

We are thinking of using a fade in edit at the beginning of the film. This will introduce the film slowly.A low angle shot of some feet walking along the street will be shown and then a medium shot of hands sticking a poster (the lost cat poster) onto a post, and zooming in will be used to emphasise what is on the poster.

This will then be followed by another low angle shot of the feet turning around and walking. Costume will be important for the feet shots, as the shoes will not be masculine or intimidating, giving the idea this is a bad character, they must be feminine to show who this character is. 

There will then be a long shot/ establishing of the girl entering her house, showing where the girl is, what the setting is like. Giving the audience the idea this house isn't in a big city, but more of a rural setting.

A two shot/ over the shoulder shot of the main character and their parent will be shown. It will be over the shoulder of the main character, showing the parent. It will have the dialogue consisting of the main character stating she is going to look for her lost cat.

A low angle shot is used to show the feet of the main character walking out of the house and then up the road, then the editing of graphic match will be used to overlap the scenes to show the feet walking somewhere else. This will give the idea of a jump in time, so that the audience is not bored having to watch the feet walking for a long time. Using this editing technique will also connect both of these different scenes as it overlaps them for a brief second.

As there is a rustling sound in a hedge in the woods nearby, there is a zooming shot to the hedge moving. The main character then presumes this may be her cat, and in hope enters the woods.

There is an over the shoulder shot of the character looking into the woods where the rustling came from, and not seeing her cat.

The main character then begins to walk through the woods, hearing more rustling sounds. There will be a series of fast shots to create tension, extreme close up shots of the characters eyes showing fear, the characters torch moving around the woods in long shots trying to identify what is making the rustling noise.

A long shot is used when quickly something runs across the path of the woods.

An extreme close up of the characters eyes are used here to show the fear.

Then a long shot of the character is used, quickly showing the unknown character (the zombie) running towards her

Costume

This is an image from 'Shaun of the Dead' which shows the zombie characters. I chose this picture to compare some of our main characters to because we will use similar costume and makeup for the zombie effect. We may have fake blood on their faces for a more scary effect but we will hide their identity using dark clothes. The lighting will be low anyway so the makeup and costume will not be really visible.

Location of the film

These are some images of Ashtead Common which is where we plan to film the two minutes of our film. They were taken at around 5:30 pm, it is just before it gets dark and this is when we are going to film because we are doing a horror movie and we thought it would add tension to the opening two minutes if it was filmed in a darkish environment.
These photographs were taken from standing just outside the woods. It is where we will be filming our opening clip. This is low lighting so there will not be much detail of the characters of surroundings which gives the audience a main focus which will be the characters and the action because there is nothing else happening at that time. There are a lot of trees in the woods so the audience will not see much sky but they will be able to identify what time of day it is because there will not be much light when we are filming but the torches will create a bit of light so we can see what is happening. This tiny bit of light will also create tension and an uneasy feeling for the audience.

Scream opening

In the opening scene of Scream, there is a shot of the telephone which already shows the audience that the phone will be of importance in the film. When the girl picks up the kitchen phone she walks down the hallway and locks the door whilst talking on the phone and the camera is tracking her. It is following the action. When she stops by the TV, the camera zooms into her face to show her expression which allows the audience to identify how she is feeling.
Synchronous sound is used at the beginning of the film when the telephone is ringing. We can see the phone on screen but the volume of the ring has been increased for more tension so we know it is not just a background noise. There is a very important bit of dialogue between the girl and the person on the other end of the phone. The girl says " Why  do you wanna know my name?" and the person on the phone replies "Because i want to know who I'm looking at". This automatically makes the audience tense as they know someone is watching her.
She asks him "What do you want?" and he then replies "to see what your insides look like". We can now identify that the person on the other end of the phone is a killer.
At the beginning we can see that it is situated in a house because we can see the television and sofa in the background. The girl then walks into the kitchen where there is the cooker and fridge. etc. So we know she is in her house. She is dressed casually so we know she is probably having a night in and not going out anywhere. However the scene is shot in low lighting so we can identify that it is at night and dark outside. This adds to the tension for the audience.

The Ring Opening Scene

In the opening scene of 'The Ring' the camera starts to zoom into the house to show the setting and location and what time of day it is. this gives the audience a feel for what type of film it is. When the camera cuts to inside the bedroom with the two girls, there are over the shoulder shots of when one girl is speaking to her friend and then another so we can identify that the conversation they are having is important within the film. The camera shows a close up of both the girls faces to show their emotion and the worried expression as they are telling the story. This shows the audience that their conversation has importance to the film. When the two girls hear the phone ringing, the camera zooms into the clock to show the time of the phone call. The time shows 10 o'clock and we know it is at night because it is dark outside. The camera focuses on the clock to show that 10 o'clock at night is a strange time to get a phone call.
A t the very beginning of the film, there is non-synchronous sound of the rain and wind which we could not see because it is dark so the sound is added to show us that the weather outside is not good. This adds to the tension. There is also very important dialogue near the beginning between the two girls. They are talking about the tape and one of the girls has a worried expression on her face so the other girl asks her "Whats your problem?" She replies "Ive watched it". This adds to the tension from the very start of the film. There is also synchronous sound when the girl is just walking out of the kitchen after getting herself a drink when through the glass, the TV turns on by itself. We can hear a static noise but we know that the volume of the TV has been increased so we know that it is important.
There are a lots of shot reverse shots where the two girls are sitting on the bed having a conversation about the tape. It shows one girl talking and then another girl talking and it switches back and forth from them.
We know that the scene is set in a house because it shows us that at the start and we then can identify it is set in the bedroom because the two girls are talking on a bed. The girl who is the main focus is always in the centre of the shot so we know we are focusing on her and how she is feeling. Both the girls are wearing a school skirt and a shirt which means we can identify them as being school girls. The first scene has very low lighting to create more tension and suspense because the scene is shot at night.

The Grudge 2 opening

When the film first begins, we see a black background with white text which builds up the suspension and it gives the audience a slight idea on what the film is about. The word 'Curse' changes to red and so we then know that in this film, there will be a curse and it gives us an insight on what the film is about. 'Fury' also changes red and we know that these words are meant to stand out because they are important.
We see an aeriel shot of a city to set the scene and location. The camera then cuts to a low angle shot where we are looking up at a flat or apartment to show where about in the city, the action will start. We see a close up shot of someone cooking food in a frying pan of hot oil. This shows us that it will have some importance with the film. The kitchen where the two characters are sitting has low lighting which sets a the mood and atmosphere in the room. We get the feeling that the two characters have had an argument and that there is friction in the room between them. When the woman is giving the man his breakfast, she hovers over him with the frying pan with a angry expression on her face. The audience then can identify what is going to happen.
The film then goes on to 3 school girls walking out of high school in their uniform like a normal day. An aerial shot then zooms out so we can see them and their surroundings. When the girls get to the house, the camera tilts upwards to show the house and its appearance which gives us an uneasy feeling of the house.
The camera then zooms in to show a mid shot of the 3 girls so we can see their expressions to show how they are feeling.
The camera show the view from inside the house looking outside through a hole. It shows one of the girls who we know is a main character. This gives us the impression that someone is inside the house watching them and that when they enter they will not be alone. This gives the audience an uneasy feeling and creates tension. The camera then shows a high angle shot looking down at the inside of the door so we get the idea that someone is watching them from the stairs. The house is in very low lighting and dark because it shows the audience that the house is deserted and run down. The camera then shows a close up of the door handle and the girl walking in. The camera frequently shows a high angle shot looking down from the same place onto the main characters.

When the text is shown at the very beginning, there is ambient sound playing in the background. It is a soft and high pitched music track  in which it gives the audience an uneasy feeling. When we look up at the apartment from a low angle shot, there is asynchronous sound because we can hear the birds squawking but it is not visible on the screen. This creates tension because the background noise is silent and we can only hear birds that we cannot see. Synchronous sound is used when the woman is cooking for her husband and we can hear the sound of the hot oil in the pan but the sound has been synchronised and projected so we can hear it and it gives us an idea of how hot the oil is so we can then identify that the oil is going to play an important part in the scene. When the woman hits her husband with the frying pan and he falls to the floor, the shot switches to show her then him and whilst this is happening, we hear a ambient sound in the background of music gradually getting louder. The music is soft and eerie and it gradually gets more high pitched. There is important dialogue which gives the audience an idea of what the film is about. One of the girls in the school uniform whispers "They say this is one of the most haunted houses". We can now identify that the haunted house is going to be the main setting where the action takes place.
There is not a lot of editing in this clip. When the woman has hit her husband round the head with the frying pan, he is lying on the floor with blood pouring out of his head. The shot then fades out into a soft white to the opening titles which leaves the audience in suspense of what is going to happen next. 

When the woman brings her husbands breakfast over to him at the table, she looks vulnerable and unhappy, however the husband is looking up at the woman but still he looks more dominant and arrogant. Their facial expressions show the atmosphere and the relationship between them.
When the three girls are walking out of school, the blonde girl is slightly in front of the others which gives the audience the impression that the blonde girl is the leader of the group.
The kitchen where the two characters are sitting has low lighting which sets a the mood and atmosphere in the room. We get the feeling that the two characters have had an argument and that there is friction in the room between them. When the woman is giving the man his breakfast, she hovers over him with the frying pan with a angry expression on her face. The audience then can identify what is going to happen.

Preliminary task

Within our group we have decided to do the first couple of minutes of a horror movie. We analysed the key aspects of a horror movie and thought about what we could do and use. We thought about the characters and what they would wear and who they could be, the setting and where we could film the shots, the music, the sound effects and the lighting.

Film genres

For our film, we have chosen to create the first 2 minutes of a horror movie.

The setting will be on in a wooded area such as Ashtead Common and a house. At the very beginning we will use fast and short shots to create tension.

We will have our main character putting a sign up on a tree for a missing cat. We then show the main character walking into their house and their parents asking them if they are going to go out and look for the cat. So they then go outside and into the woods to look for their cat when our main character gets mysteriously attacked. We then see a pair of hands sticking a 'missing' poster of the main character.

We will use a few silences and maybe muffle the sound to add effect and make the opening more intense for the audience. Our main lighting will be using a torch as it will be in the evening. We will show a point of view shot of someone walking with the torch to create tension. We might use some music too but it will mainly be sound effects.

Preliminary Exercise Stills

This still shot has the CCTV effect as it looks like the camera is situated in the corner of the room. We stood on a table to get the high angle effect. You can see from Steves face that he is quite angry looking with his fists clenched. However Rob Looks fearful because he is pulling away. We can tell that we are focusing on Steve as the camera is facing him and not Rob. This is also a twp shot wherewe can see two people in the shot.

Preliminary Exercise Stills

This is an extreme close up of Steves eyes so it shows his emotion and expression. The main focus is on how he is feeling as there is nothing else to take out attention away. This is the shot when Rob has just broken up with Steve and it shows Steves feelings and his eyes start to water as if he is going to cry. This is effective as people can clearly identify how he is feeling and his reaction to the news.

Premliminary Exercise Stills

This is an over the shoulder shot to show that we are behind Steve and focusing on Rob. This is the part in the clip where Rob is breaking up with Steve.This is where the main action and focus happens. They exchange a couple of lines of dialogue sitting opposite each other on the table. We can also see from this shot that it is a office kind of environment by the desks and chairs.

Preliminary Exercise Stills

This is a still shot of Steve, our main character entering through the door. We filmed a close up shot of his hand opening the door from the outside and this is just as he walks in and is shutting the door behind him. This is a medium shot of our character to show partly what he is wearing so we can tell a bit about his character and so we can identify what is happening in the image. From this shot, we then focused on him and panned across the room to show where he was walking to and this lead on to show our other character. We attached the camera to a tripod and as the character walked across the room we turned the tripod to make a smooth shot so the camera did not shake or tilt.

Preliminary Exercise

For the preliminary task, we were practising our skills which are needed for our main practical assignment. The task is to film and edit a character opening a door, crossing the room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. For this task we had to demonstrate Match on action, Shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

Match on action requires a character to be in the same position in one shot and to be in the same position in the next if the scene is going to flow on from each other. Otherwise it is a fault in the film because for example someones arm might be reached out on the table in one shot and in the next it may be on their lap.

Shot/reverse shot is used for dialogue so when one character is speaking the camera will be focused on them and when the next person is speaking the camera would move and focus on the other person so whoever is speaking, the camera is on them and changes for when the next person speaks.

The 180 degree rule is when you have to film from one side of the action. All of the camera angles andshots have to be taken from this one side throughout the task.

Kidulthood

A good example of mise-en-scene, is the film 'Kidulthood'.We could identify what type of film it was in just the first 10 minutes. The films beginning is set in a school playground. We could see this as the characters were dressed in school uniform. They wore blazers, ties and school shirts which gives us the vision that they are all in the school premises. We can see people smoking in the school grounds which gives us an impression that they are rule breakers and rebellious. A lot of the characters were wearing tracksuits and hats. We could tell they were chavs from the beginning. The girls wore big hoop earrings with their hair scraped back into a high side ponytail.


The lighting was brighter in side the classrooms and darker when the characters are outside. The more dominant characters are in groups. Alot of the main characters were positioned in the background. Other students were  walking in front of the camera. In the classroom scene, there was a low angle point of view shot. The audience were seeing the girl shout down to the camera. There was an extreme close up of the boy in the DT block with the glasses on drilling. This showed just his eyes to show his concentration. At the very beginning, there was panning. The camera showed the boys playing football and then the other people in the playground. When the camera is focusing on the football, they used tracking to follow the football from one person to another. Zoom was also used to focus on the main characters so you can identify who is talking.

Throughout the small clip we saw, a number of facial expressions being shown. When the girl was getting beaten up, she had a fearful face. The girl who watched it happen looked shocked and helpless.

Film Key Terms

In film, it is important to know the camera shots and what effect the different camera techniques have on the audience.

• Close up - A shot which shows from the neck up and it is used to show facial expressions.
• Medium shot - A shot showing the character from the waist up. It allows other characters to be in view and so it allows character interaction. Often used for more sociable shots.
• Extreme close up - This shot focuses on a small detail. E.g. an eye or a hand.
• Long shot - A shot showing a character or setting from a distance.
• High angle shot - A shot taken from above, looking down. It makes the audience feel powerful and superior and the actors seem small and vulnerable.
• Low angle shot - A shot taken from below. The audience are being looked down on. It may makes us feel small and vulnerable and the actors seem powerful and superior.
• Panning - This is when the camera moves in an arc from a fixed point.
• Tracking - This is when the camera is on tracks and it follows the action.
• Zoom - The camera lens moves in to a close up. Often used to focus attention on a relevant detail or emphasises a characters reaction. 
• Diegetic sound - Music/sound effect that comes from the scene of the film.
• Non-diegetic sound - Music/sound that is added to the film during editing.
• Mise-en-scene - Everything in the frame. Nothing in the film is there by accident. Mise-en-scene is a broad term covering everything you see. Colours, props, set, costumes and lighting.