Super Macro

Super macro allows you to focus even more on the object than a normal macro mode. This allows you to blur out the background and be very focused on the object; this is very similar to depth of field.

Depth of Feild

Depth of field is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene, the nearest objects are in focus.

This allows the audience to be focused on the main object.

Headroom Shot

Headroom is the amount of space between the top of the subjects head and the top of the frame. If you have too much headroom it does not look good and wastes frame space.

Lead Room Shot

A lead room shot is when there is space in front and in the direction of an object, it is usually in the direction of where the object/person is going.

For example: cars require lead rooms, extra space is allowed in front of the moving car so the viewer can see that it has some place to go.

space in front of the car

White Balance

White balance is the process of removing unrealistic colours in the frame, this is so objects appear white in the photo/film as it is in person. White balance improves the image under a wide range of lighting conditions.



as you can see in the second picture it is more cleared and the there is no unwanted colours.



Here is an interesting video on white balance:

Rule of Thirds

The basic principle of understanding the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down to thirds (horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts.

With this grid in mind there are four important parts of the image that should be considered in your frame.

This theory is that you place the important parts in the middle or making the image more balanced.

Audience Research

We had carried out a questionnaire on Survey Monkey to find out what sort of things our audience would like to see in our film,

(click on images to enlarge)

Looking at the replies we had got back, there are a few things such as location and the time which we will be trying to incorporate in to our film.
There are also many things that we will not be including in our film, this is because we want it to be more of a surprise to the audience rather than it going along with what they thought the film is going to be about. For example, the main character is going to be in fact a male, he is not within the age range the audience wanted and there are no deaths in our film.

Script and Summary of Mr Smith and Script

Above is the script for Mr Smith.

Summary:

Mr Smith is a bout a hard working english teacher at Heavens Gate School, he always stays back late after school to mark work and is usually the last one out. But one day weird happenings begin to happen around him and it gets worse day by day, the finally he disappears and is no where to be found. 

Planning Schedule

Research Plan

It is very important having a research plan because you need to know what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. It is also important so you have the right actors and the right location for your film.

Because our film is about a teacher and set in a school, we thought that it is the best idea to film it in our very own college site: Central Foundation Girls' Sixth Form.
not only is it easily accessible but it also fits the criterea for our film : Old, Dull and Dark.

(PICTUTRE OF CFGS)

We then looked into the location for the graveyard scenes, there are many graveyard/chuches around our college which we thought that would be great for our film, as most graveyards have the same look to it. The one which we decided that would be best is one that is very close to our college, we chose this because it is easy for us to get there and it would take much time for us and our actor to get there. The church is called New Teastament Church of God, and we will be filming outside.

For our film there is only one main character, it is very important that we get the right actor because they will need to be able to create the atmosphere that we want and need for the film, it is important for them to get it right.
We decided that having a teacher as our main character would be ideal as it is easier to contact them and we are familiar with them and they know who we are, I decided to look into the drama teachers in our school and thought that one teacher (Lee Davey) would be perfect for the role; this is because..
firstly he is a drama teacher so he wouldnt have any difficulties/insecurites of doing certain scenes (would be confident)
and secondly because he fits in to what my group and I had imagined what Mr.Smith would look like.

(Picture of Mr. Davey)

Censorship - The Exorcist 1973

The Exorcist is a horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by William Peter Blatty from his novel. The book was inspired by the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with a young girl being possessed and her mother’s desperate attempt to save her through an exorcism conducted by two priests.

Reception in the UK:

The Exorcist was included in the “video nasty” phenomenon of the early 1980’s, although the home video was released in 1979. Warner Bros. Decided not to submit the film for classification following the “video nasty” crisis, and the implementation of the Video Recording Act 1984. It was not until 1999 that the film was submitted and passed uncut with an 18 rating.

The film was shown on terrestrial television in the UK for the first time in 2001, on Channel 4.

This film had caused a scare to many of the public when it had been released, it was said that many people had fainted when watching this and some committing suicide because they were so scared. It was also said that during the filming of the Exorcist many strange things were happening, a fire had broke out which caused a setback in pre-production. Friedkin claimed that a priest was brought in numerous times to bless the set, Blair and Ellen Burstyn (The Lead Actors) had actually permanently damaged their back due to their harness.

This film indeed is an extremely terrifying film and it is understandable why it had a bad reception in the UK, I think that it being supposedly banned in the UK for a few years was the right decision because it was something that many people had not seen before.

However, it could be said that the BBFC should not have a say over what we watch and if we can watch it. I also think that it is unfair for the BBFC to be able to restrict us from seeing films that we may think are suitable for us. Many people may argue that we have the decision to choose what is best for us and someone else should not take that decision. I agree with but in certain cases such as The Exorcist or The Clockwork Orange, such films should be away from public eyes as it could be too much for people to bear.

For example, in The Exorcist; the scenes whilst the young girl is possessed causes fear to those watching, it could possibly make them believe that what is happening in the film will happen to them.

Childs' Play 3 (A Controversial Film)

Child’s Play 3 AKA Child’s Play 3: Look Who’s Stalking is a 1991 horror film; it is the third installment in the Child’s Play series.

Plot:

It has been eight years since the second film; we now see that Andy is a teenager who has been enrolled in a military school. Play Pals Toy Company decides to re-release its Good Guys line, feeling that after all this time, the bad publicity has died down. As they re-used old materials, the spirit of Charles Lee Ray once again comes to life. In his search for Andy, Chucky falls into the hands of a younger boy, and he realises that it may be easier to transfer his soul into this unsuspecting child. Andy is the only one who knows what Chucky is up to, and it's now up to him to put a stop to it.

Cast:

Justin Whalin                      Andy Barclays

Perrev Reeves                   Kristen De Silva

Brad Dourif                         Chucky

Andrew Robinson              Sergeant Botnick

Travis Fine                          Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Brett C. Shelton

Dakin Matthews                  Colonel Cochrane

Burke Byrnes                      Sergeant Clark

Matthew Walker                  Major Ellis

Jeremy Sylvers                  Ronald Tyler

Dean Jacobson                   Harold Aubrey Whitehurst

Peter Haskell                       Mr. Sullivan

Reception:

The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $20.5 million worldwide. Some critics felt that the film itself was darker, despite some scenes of Chucky’s humour; mainstream critics were generally negative reviews and horror fans thought it to be the worst of the series.  

James Bulger Controversy:

This film has been indirectly linked to the murder of James Bulger. The killers were 10 years old at the time and it was said that they had imitated a scene in which one of Chucky’s victims us splashed with blue paint, although these allegations have never been proven it had led to some new legislation for video films.

The boys managed to get hold of this film through the father of one of the boys; he had rented Child’s Play 3. However, police found that the son was not living with his father so at the time it was unlikely that he would have seen the film.





James Bulger



10 year old boys (murders)

My Pitch

Roles and Responsibilities within the Film Industry

Here are some of the many roles within the film industry:

Producer: film producers create the conditions for making movies they initiates, coordinates, supervises, and controls matters for example raising funding, hiring key personnel, and arranging for distributors. Film producers are involved throughout the making of the film so they can preserve voice and vision of the film.

Director: responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of a film.

Including:

-       controlling the content

-       directing the performances

-       organising/selecting the locations

-       managing technical details e.g. Position of camera, lighting.

 Executive Producer: is responsible for the overall production (except the technical aspects). The executive producer usually handles business and legal issues.

Production Manager: supervises the physical aspects of the production (not creative aspect). Their responsibility is to make sure filming stays on schedule and within budget, and also helps manage the day-to-day budget by managing operating costs (salaries, production costs, and everyday equipment rental costs).

Production Coordinator: responsible for organising all the logistics from hiring crew to renting equipment. The production coordinator is an important part of film production.

Screenwriter:  is responsible for script, may be involved in with creative aspects of

production.

Script Supervisor: keeps track of what parts of the script have been filmed and makes notes of any changes between what was actually filmed and what appeared in the script. They make notes on every shot, and keep track of props, blocking, and other details to ensure continuity from shot to shot and scene to scene.

Stunt Coordinator: arranges the casting and performance of the stunt, working closely with the Director.

Casting Director: this person selects the actors which will be playing the characters in the film.

Location Manager: responsible for final clearing a location for filming.

Production Designer: responsible for creating the physical, visual appearance of the film.

Art Director: oversees artists and craftspeople, such as the Set Designers, Graphic Artists.

Set Decorator: responsible for decorating a film set, including the furnishings and all the other objects that will be seen in the film.

Construction Coordinator: responsible for the construction of all the sets.

Prop maker: responsible for building and managing the props that are used for the film.

Blackout

Actors:

 Eline de Jong                Rosanne

 Abigaill Henriquez       Jenifer

 Haniel                              Micheal

Directed By: Thomas Drissen

Produced By: Shascha van Eck

Written By: Guus Hens and Thomas Drissen

Released: 9^th August 2010

Genre: Horror

Summary:

A teen age girl is home alone in the middle of the night. She's chatting with her friend on the phone until all of a sudden the whole house suffers from a blackout.
When she explores the house trying to get the electricity back up again an uninvited guest is in her house, when she realises what is happening she tries to run away from the killer. Micheal (killer) manages to catch her and attempts to kill her but gets pushed back, Rosanne manages to kill him. There is then another visitor to see what happened, calling out for Micheal, Rosanne then approaches Jenifer saying ‘I’ve killed Micheal!’ as she is hugging her Jenifer then takes a knife and kills Rosanne.

In this short film there are the usual conventions of a horror film some of which are:

-The Setting: BLACKOUT is set in a dark house, the girl is all alone and there isn’t much light coming in; especially when the electricity goes out. This tells the audience that something is about to happen as it gives you that eerie feel to it.

-Music: throughout BLACKOUT there music being played in the background, a lot of it was screeching noise and big bangs; there was also silence. Using these types of sounds is very effective to the audience as it makes them feel uneasy and it is also a signal to them that something bad is going to happen. In BLACKOUT when the main girl realises that there is someone in her house the screeching  and sounds of violins begin, making the scene more intense.

This films ending was not what was expected by the audience, I think that by doing this it had made it more intense and more surprising for the audience. When Jenifer was comforting Rosanne and ends up killing her was a real shock which played well with this film.

This film is clearly targeted for an audience aged 12 and above (stated in video description). I think that they have done this because there is a lot of jumpy and scary moments in the film which also made me jump e.g. a back shot of the killer dressed in black with a weapon as well as the loud sound effect with it. They have also probably done this because one of the characters does use unsuitable language for those aged under 12.

Overall, I think that this short film was a successful attempt of a horror film as it has all the necessary conventions of a horror film (setting-dark house, music-screeching). I also think that the ending was good too because they had done the unexpected which makes it slightly more original from other horror films.

Hammer Film Productions

Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the UK founded in 1939 by William Hinds, the company is best known for a series of Gothic “Hammer Horror” films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced: science fiction, thrillers, film noir, comedies and also television series.

During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market; they enjoyed worldwide distribution and financial success. This is due to the distribution partnership with major US studios, such as Warner Bros.

However, a slump in the British film industry forced Hammer into bankruptcy, but had survived and on the 20^th July 1937 purchased the leasehold on 113-117 Wardour Street and continued to distribute films made by other companies.

In 1938 James Carreras and Anthony Hinds (company directors) resurrected Hammer as the film production arm with a view of supplying ‘quota-quickies’ – cheaply made domestic films designed to fill gaps in cinema schedules and support more expensive features. They had revived ‘Hammer Film Production’ and set to work on Death in High Heels, The Dark Room and Crime Reporter.

During 1951, Hammer signed a 4-year production and distribution contract with Robert Lippert, an American film producer. They had effectively exchanged products for distribution on either side on the Atlantic starting with – The Last Page and ending with Women Without Men.

Films by Hammer Film Productions

The Curse of Frankenstein

The film was an enormous success, not only in Britain, but also in the USA, where it inspired many imitations. Hammer had turned their most successful horror film into series of 6 sequels to The Curse of Frankenstein (1959-1974):

-The Revenge of Frankenstein (1959)

-The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

-Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

-Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

-The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)

-Frankenstein and the Monster form Hell (1974)

Dracula (1958)

The huge box office success of The Curse of Frankenstein led to Hammer attempting on another horror icon. Financing for Dracula was proved to be awkward as no one was interested, it had eventually came from the National Film Finance Council (£32.000) and the rest from Universal in return for worldwide distribution rights.

Dracula was an enormous success, breaking box-office records in the UK, the United States, and Canada and across the world.

Hammer also produced 8 other Dracula films (1960-1974):

-The Brides of Dracula (1960)

-Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

-Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)

-Scars of Dracula (1970)

-Dracula AD (1972)

-The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

-The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

Although Hammer films have been on hibernation for a while in 2009 it was announced that Hammer Films and Alliance Films are producing a film adaptation on The Woman in Black scheduled for a 2012 release, staring Daniel Radcliffe.