Producing the Short Film: Ident and Credits

When discussing with Lucy the possible options of how to portray our ident we both liked the idea of paper cuttings or a typewriter. I collected the relevant letters out of existing newspapers and it looked similar to the image below. However, we both agreed that this style didn't quite fit the genre we were aiming for and wouldn't work well with the accompanying music.

We also disregarded the concept of having  typewriting letters because although achievable (see below) again it didn't symbolise the brand identity or style of our production company.

So I decided to create my own template of our ident on Paint. I thought that bold lettering would reflect the genre of horror that we were aiming for. Also, by using solely black and white tones and contrasting between the two this would capture the audiences attention. 

It then occured to me that at the end of the ident we could include the recording of a broken camera effect (see below) as this could be our recognisable statement before each film. However, when I had created the broken camera effect, by simply filming a TV screen with no signal, I realised that this would fit best as the end scene in our film to leave it on cliffhanger and Lucy agreed.

The images beneath explain how I created the ident and credits of the film.

Producing the Short Film: Music

As Lucy and I decided that we would feature no dialogue within the film - the  copyright free music included would play a key role in building suspense and tension throughout.

The first example of music that we used was to accompany our ident of 'EXPOSED Productions' at the beginning.We chose the song Bump In The Night, taken from the royalty free music website Incompetech. This is a form of non-diagetic sound as the music was played over the ident scene and the beat coincided with the letters of 'EXPOSED productions' dropping.  We were able to create this effect by using the editing package premiere elements 9.It was also fitted in well with the eerie, horror genre that we intended to create. 

The second feature of music within the film is diagetic. It is the song playing in the background in the scene where the victim is getting ready in her bedroom. Again this a copyright free song as it was played by our friend's band. Below is a video of them playing the whole song.

If you watch the clip below you can clearly see that we cut the music quite near the start of the song and so it is only the introduction that is heard and recognised. I believe that this is the right song to use as its upbeat tempo is juxtaposed the rest of the music that features throughout.

In the two scenes below I decided to include the same royalty free music. This allowed for continuity and enabled the audience to recognise the sound and so the tension built up during the scenes. The song is The Hive and was also taken from the Incompetech website. Originally the song accompanied only the credits but when we watched the film back I realised that the train scene was quite long. I had the option of either cutting out some of the footage or adding some form of sound on top of it. By cutting it we would have lost some of the tension and suspense build up and so by inserting this song over the footage was definitely the best course of action. Also the tempo of the music increases throughout and as it reaches its climax towards the end of the scene the film cuts to the next train scene and the music comes to an abrupt stop. This brings the audience back to a momentarily relaxed and comfortable state when watching the film.

Producing the Short Film: Problems with Filming

Storyboard

Although we did keep to the majority of our storyboard we realised that we had two much content for an approx 5 mins film for it to look professional. Therefore, we eliminated the scenes of meeting friends in the park as it perhaps over complicated the plot and by keeping it to two main characters with one following the other it would not only be easier but also more effective.

Main Narrative

The first problem that Lucy and I had is that we disagreed over which point of view shot should feature in our film (see video above). We asked the opinions of our teachers and classmates and concluded that the shot that I favoured would be featured.

Chase scene attempt 1

Chase scene attempt 2

When we watched the footage back of our first attempt at filming the chase seen we faced a major problem. It was too dark for the camera to detect any of the action. We had to change cameras in order to film the scene to a decent standard. Luckily, once we addressed the problem the footage from the second attempt at filming the chase scene was of much better quality and suitable to use.

The only problem with the telephone box scene is that Lucy and I realised it didn't really fit in well with our sequence and so we made the decision not to include it within the film. This meant that our final sequence flowed better and we had more control over the time frames.

Producing the Short Film: Main Narrative

Here are some photographs of us at the scenes of the main narratives -  hard at work. 

Shown below is a short video of all the establishing shot takes that Lucy and I filmed. From these takes we chose the footage that we believed was best.

Here is a compilation of the bedroom scenes that we recorded. They are not in the same order that the feature within the film.

Below is the footage of the scenes on the stairs that we captured. We used all of these shots in our final film.

Shown beneath are various pan shots at the train station. We only featured one of these shots in the final film and the video of that shot is also shown below.

These are the paranoid shots that we filmed after getting off the train. Again, we chose the clip that we thought worked best and edited it as part of our final film.

This is the telephone shot that we initially disregarded as it took away some of the tension built up and wasn't essential for the scene. Also, we were conscious of the length of our film and so we both agreed to cut this shot out completely.

Here is a short video of all of the chase scenes that we filmed. We included all of these within the final cut and alternated between the various shots and angles.

Producing the Short Film: Initial Scenes of Dual Narrative

First of all, we shot the first part of the dual narrative of our Short Film. Shown below are some images and videos which are examples of what we captured on our first shoot.

Here are our first two attempts at filming the scene where our title Pulse appears.

This is the example of the close up that we originally practised with Sarah  Mauremootoo and this scene shall feature in the film. 

Whilst filming this part of the narrative, Lucy and I realised that this scene was another way in which we could incorporate high angle shots in the sequence. This creates a sense as if she is being watched and the space she is trapped in is quite small and claustrophobic. 

The slight low angle shot inserted below demonstrates the desperation and vulnerability of the victim as she longs to be freed.

The next two clips show how we disrupted the intense scenes of the crying for help as they distract the audience slightly from the cries of help from the victim as they concentrate momentarily on the props in the scene and their significance to the plot.

Featuring hands and feet being restrained is an iconic feature of kidnaps within films. However, we decided to use close ups when portraying them in PULSE. As mentioned above this helped to break the tension build up through the cries of the victim and acts as momentary relief - as you can still hear the despair of the victim in the background but it is not prominent within these scenes. Also, the variety of shots keeps the audience engaged and entertained.

Below are three takes of our final scene with the victim. In each clip there are different aspects that Lucy and I like and dislike. 

In the first clip showed above - me, Lucy and Miranda all agreed that the acting could be slightly better.

In the footage above Lucy and I were very pleased with the acting and everything about the scene, our only concern was that the lighting may be a little dark to pick up on the victim's expression.

However, when we introduced another source of light the garage didn't quite have the same eerie appearance and so the effect wasn't as powerful.

Therefore we decided to use the second clip as part of our final sequence to the film.

Producing the Short Film: Filming Schedule

First filming session

Date: 18/12/11 
What we filmed: Pulse Ident and all Kidnap scenes
Crew/Cast: Myself, Lucy and Miranda
Props: Candles, Paint, Clapperboard, Rope, Chair, Gag(cloth), Make-up (bruised face), Saw and mask (obscure setting-mise en scene)
Equipment: Tripod, Batteries, Charger, Laptop (for sound), Torch (extra lighting), Video Camera, Digital Camera



Second filming session

Date: 09/01/12
What we filmed: Bedroom scene, Train scenes, Stalker following girl scenes
Cast/Crew: Myself, Lucy, Miranda, Kieran
Props: Hairbrush, Bag, Laptop 
Equipment: Money for train, Tripod, Batteries, Charger, Video Camera, Digital Camera, Clapperboard, Umbrella

Third filming session

Date: 20/01/12
What we filmed: Establishing shot of the houses and shot of the train leaving (from the bridge)
Cast/Crew: Myself and Lucy
Props: None
Equipment: Video Camera, Tripod 


Fourth filming session

Date: 03/02/12
What we filmed: Chase scene
Cast/Crew: Myself, Lucy and Miranda
Props: Same costume for continuity
Equipment: Video Camera, Tripod, Torch (extra lighting), Digital Camera

Planning my Production: Practice Shots

Before filming our production we decided to practice and experiments with different shots and our ability to frame them. We considered ways in which we could improve our angles, frame shots and techniques in order to have experience for the shooting of our Short Film.

Miranda Burns was absent on the day we practised these shots in our school so our understudy stepped in - Sarah Mauremootoo.

We practised this shot to see whether the quality of filming would still be of a good standard even though the camera will be moving freestyle at quite a fast pace. Now that I have seen that this type of scene can work effectively, I think we can incorporate it within a chase scene towards the end of the film.

We practised this shot angle to see how far away the camera quality can detect the movement and expression of the characters.

This is a reaction shot that we practised to see whether the camera could detect the fast movement and then clearly show the reaction of the character. We may decide to feature this type of camera shot in the film itself.

This close up shot allowed Lucy and I to see that the camera that we would use to film would be clear in focus and precision.

We considered  this high angle shot to possibly feature as a CCTV shot on the train. If we were to do this we would alter the colour to black and white.

The two point of view shots above would feature in our film as from the stalker's perspective as he spies on his victim.

These two examples of camera shots through the mirror will be featured near the beginning of the film and will probably be in the first scene where the main character is introduced.