Progress Chart

This is just an updater and progress chart which has helped me to stay on track, time and management is crucial in this project. The chart finishes before the date of the actual evaluation task. The need to put it on there isn't that important as all the important stuff is in the blog anyway and as we draw closer to the end of this project, it's much easier to monitor what is left to do.

Progress chart

View more presentations from Dalveer.

The End (Finished Filming)

Well filming is over and I must say that the overall product looks amazing. All this hard work and time has gone into produces a great opening sequence, All the editing, sound has been done, all left now is the evaluation which is going to be a great challenge.

AS media has been great and I can honestly say that I've learn't so much. I'm most definitely more open minded with ideas than I first once. I can't wait for A2 media but until then enjoy my blog and the Opening Sequence of Cannibal High.

The Final Piece

Editing the final piece has been a roller-coaster, making the effects work with the shots were quite a challenge. After the first two drafts we had to be extremely creative with the way we contained the interest and tension for the audience.

The clear changes from this final draft and the 2nd draft is that we put more special effect that suggest that the characters are being watched. We've tried as a group to make sure that the colour pallet is clearer and more visible for the audience. Using Sony Vegas which (a form of final cut express but not on a Apple Mac) enabled use to create this was much more efficient than using the Apple Mac, it gave us a more better understanding on how to use the software whereas Final Cut Express can be misleading. It's gave us great transitions and great effects as well. However the speed of the rendering is far better on a Apple Mac. So Sony Vegas lacked the speed which made it more time consuming.

The sound is much better and connotes a better picture to the audience it allows the audience to think more and question the opening sequence a lot more.

This is our Final Opening sequence, and I'm extremely pleased with it, so I hope you enjoy it.

Creating a Film Name (Finishing Touches)

Thinking of a film title was extremely difficult we had relate the title to the opening sequence, however our first initial ideas went from Zombie school to After School,we stuck with After school for the first draft but when we got feedback from our teacher it occurred to us that the title just wasn't cutting it. Me and my partner sat down for a very long time. We just couldn't think of any titles that placed the character of our film correctly. UNTIL.....we had a drink and then my partner suggested Cannibal High. I looked at him and said you absolute genius, when we sat back threw a few drafts of our film we noticed that the finishing of the opening sequence fitted so good that we ended up changing a few things in film. Using Adobe After Effects to create this title we managed to create a strong but bold title that placed itself well within the film.

As you can see the title correlates to the image of the cannibal.

Sound

Creating sound for this opening sequence had to a well thought out process. When creating a Horror film the realism of the sound connotes a better understanding of what's happening and why.

As group we planned initially to create a all garage band theme tune. However after a few trials and experimenting we choose to combine mixture of recorded music with some sounds created using Apple Mac Garage Band software. It enabled use to blend the two together, giving us a great conventional horror theme tune. We created a clear Non diegetic sound which connotes isolation and vulnerability, The sound of wind passing threw a tunnel with no one around adds to the tension built at the beginning. As the main character in the film continues to go about his vandalism we capture a lower level of Non diegetic sound, the cross fading between ambient and a low level of percussion sound(wind). We've captured the sound to fit well with the character, when he's vandalising and when he's vulnerable we've change the level of crescendo. When the character goes to investigate to what happened we have chosen to slowly but steadily increase the tempo at which the shots are being shown. Before the character goes we use a diegetic sound to emphasise the 'Bang'. The 'Bang' sound connotes clear frustration and panic across the characters face. As we build up to the finale we unravel a diegetic sound (breathing) combined with a tension building diegetic sound. A high pitch using strings and a source of percussion instrument. At the point of the character entering the room the crescendo of the music is at it's highest. The chase uses diegetic sound of the cannibal character and also Non diegetic sound of the CCTV surveillance camera effect. All together the sound creates and adds the tension of the opening sequence.

The 2nd Draft (Opening Sequence)

We had our last production day, we re-filmed certain areas to make the film much more to the point, We've put in some creative special effects and a narrative code as well one which re-tells a slight story from the past.

We've already notice by the length of the film that its to slow in the build up. When we come to rendering the final draft we will cut the opening shots of the vandals approaching as it doesn't fit in with the overall idea of a Horror genre. We realised that our film isn't about vandals from out of town but a horror which suggest that there's something in the school. We felt also that the sound needed adjusting as well as it wasn't just wasn't cutting it.

Creating a Cannibal

Creating a cannibal for the film was the more fun part as we able to play round with blood (ketchup) and generally make our cannibal character look convincingly scary. The use of ketchup was a much more reliable product of blood as it was the closest to creating an effect that the cannibal was eating people. Experimenting with the ketchup and took many shots with the cannibal. As we felt that the ending of the opening sequence is probably the most vital thing of it all as it's the tension which has been built, and now something will happen. What the audience see last is what will stay with them more as it's the most terrifying bit of the opening.

Creating a Cannibal

Advertising (Film Awarness)

If my film company was actually real, publishing a real film, then promotion of the film is vital. My group decided to create a form of advertising threw the internet, as it's were everyone goes especially our target audience. 9/10 they will be visiting social networking sites and browsing for videos and songs. My group chose to advertise using Facebook (social networking site) and You-tube (broadcasting Site) both shared a similar theme which is it's low budgeted, hardly any costs needed, and as being a small production company using the internet to advertise is at a much more greater effect than spending thousands on advertising threw the TV.

Production Day 5

As a group we have decided to make this the final production day, this based on that we only have some minor filming left to do. We need to film the part at the end involving blood. Apart from that the entire film is complete and from my point of view rather a pleasing result.

The experience gained threw these past few weeks, has been great I've learn't more about the technique when filming and even produced greater shots in the process. The use of Sony Vegas and the Adobe After Effects has enabled me to gather a better understanding and vision, filming contains a lot more than just a camcorder. Without all my research and planning finishing this film wouldn't have been possible.

We will be putting in our desired special effects and creativity that wasn't put in the first draft, so that's still to be put in. We felt that cutting out the walking scene of the three vandals was better as it ruins the point of is being a Horror/Thriller. It's confusing to the audience as well not knowing if it's a gangster film or a Horror/Thriller film.

First Draft

Editing the first draft is rather straight forward,we got feedback from our teacher we understand and digested his comment of the first draft and are currently planning another day to film, a few of the shot weren't accurate and showing what they were mean't to show. For example at the end of the first draft we noticed that the build up to the cannibal scene was far too long, and when it came to the final sequence it wasn't as clear as it could be.

The film is black and white, as a group we are still discussing the fact of filming in colour. It will improve the quality and visibility of the film. We found that the sound wasn't congruent as it could be so that another area we will be looking into. There are still some effect that we want to put in, when we come to editing the final sequence we will be putting in a clever re-telling the story style effect, For example after the production name and the title we will be putting pretend statistics and a hand-held video effect with it, if your still confused watch the final draft it's clear.

Proairectic Code

There are many narrative codes in this film, codes which suggest things and codes which make the audience want to explore them, just like a detective. As the opening sequence of our film reveals thugs within the school premises, it opens the narrative enigmas for the audience as there signs which suggest that these vandals are here more than to just gloat.
Proairetic codes are codes within a film which suggest an action, the character is to take further action, for example if a character in the film has an object e.g. gun or knife the audience would have reasons to believe that an action is to be taken with it. This is the code which is more or less likely to create tension in a film.

A clear example of use of Proairetic code in my film would be when we explore one of the thugs journey in the film and when he’s carrying around with him a can of spray paint.

Herneneutic Codes

Hermeneutic codes

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Production Day 4

Day 4 of the production (filming) we were given feedback on our films and we are looking into areas that we feel as group could be more developed and corrected. We agreed upon the first draft that there many areas that needed touching upon, for example the jumping the fence and approaching the school was going to need more care and attention.

We plan today just to render and correct the beginning of the opening sequence leaving us with one more day. 1 more day to correct any last minute touches like special effects and sound. Hopefully the school will be more deserted and free to use as this will help towards the realism of the sound, in the film.

Retakes also on the cannibal scene will be also touched upon.

More production day images

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Production Day 3

Well today was a better day with the filming, we managed to correct fault/errors from the other day. I had a chance to look threw the shots taken and the quality is looking much more appealing.

We touched upon the cannibal scene today some great shots with the blood, but still we will need to take some more shots next time as the picture quality at the end isn't correct for some reasons unknown to me.

Production Day 2

Day 2 of our production diary, today we plan to finish the film off completely. After we finish the filming we will then go onto editing and finalising the film before we hand it in as our first draft.

Time is a limiting factor today as the school we plan to film in is more busy than usual.

The final part of the opening sequence involves a more bloody and horror based touch to it. We will be filming the part of the film which involves certain characters finding friends dead. So it will be quite interesting to find out the final touch.

After looking at a run down of the shots taken in the first production day we found some clips which we won't be able to use so that something we have to take into consideration for the next production day.

Start of Production Day 1(Here we go!!!)

Here we go, today my film crew will be attempting to film what will be the first of the opening sequence. We hope to film the first minute and a half of the film. We will be covering and taking more shots than actually needed. However when it comes to editing the film down we will then find and choose the best shots for the film.

Production day 1

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Storyboarding for Final Idea

These storyboards are the basic guide to the making my film, this will keep me on track.

Storyboards for final idea

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Panasonic HDC-SD5

This is a quick slide show about the camera and the features that it has.

Panasonic hdc sd5

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Getting Permission (Final Location)

In order for my me and film crew to film on the school site, we had to get permission in order to film after school times. We had to chat with the site manager and the caretakers of the school and had to make sure that they were fine with us filming in certain areas of the school.

We wanted to film during the hours of 6-8pm when the school was deserted and slightly dark as it adds to realism of a Horror genre. Most of the shots needed for our film will need a darker canvas, especially at the end when the cannibal is introduced.

We spoke to the people in charge and they were more than happy to allow us to film, there were only some uncertainty between the trust and times. However we had a long chat and finally agreed that filming was important and that we would be closely supervised.

Location Hunting (Multimedia)

Finding an ideal location for our film knowing that it’s at a school makes it much easier to work out when and how we plan to film. However the question is where to film and at the moment finding the right rooms and the right corridors within the school is tricky. It’s important that the film has dark rooms and long corridors as it adds to the tension building of the film.

At the moment finding the right room is promising quite a task, as we plan to film when the light is dark it’s hard during school time even after school time to find the right rooms for the film. These are some of the areas we hope to film......

Main settings e

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Storyboarding (Preliminary sequences)

Preliminary sequence

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Research & Planning Essay 3 (Target Audience)

Target Audience is probably the single most important thing in the film industry. Without people to pay to view your film your film will gain a loss in money cause the film company to go down. Most likely small independant companies like Cipher for example. My production company targets a more broader audience than a mainstream audience because being a small independant company means you have a low budget and therfore advertising and promoting the video will be to a more niche audience, in my case 15-24yrs old. A real life example would be Adulthood even though it's based on a different genre fiancially its a touch and go production. All the productions (films) have to targeted at a specific audience.

Target audience

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Market Research (Target Audience)

This is the first part to finding our Target audience, this questionnaire ask basic questions which will help to gain a better understanding of our core target audience.

RedLine Pictures Questionnaire

We gave out 30 questionnaires, and threw those replies we gathered data which could form a better understanding for which Target Audience we would be aiming at.

Research & Planning Essay 2 (Opening Sequence of my film)

The idea for my opening sequence is to create a Horror based film which will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The initial idea is to create a film which doesn’t entirely involve the viewers thinking that it’s a horror from the first shot go! However I will plan to start the film with a more upbeat action based beginning, as the 3 vandals who break into a school plan to cause as much damage to school property as they can, however as they search around school for a reasonable place to vandal a creature lurking in the dark and deserted store room within the school comes out

The characters that the audience will be introduced to in the film will be the three vandals and the demented creature that will be merely introduced into the film. The three vandals will eventually go their separate ways, where which we will explore one of the characters whom will be introduced to the demented creature at the end. The three vandals are constructed in such a way that the audience dislike them for their actions and vandalism, however that they will soon turn as like and want the character to survive. The demented creature which is merely introduced apart from the end of the sequence is portrayed as a cold blooded killer.

As I said before the setting is placed at a school, which at night or afterschool when the premises are deserted it’s a rather good setting for a horror film. Also schools at night with it‘s creaking pipes and hundreds of deserted rooms adds to the tension. The long corridors and the dark corners will add to that tension.

The camera shots which will be used in the opening sequence will vary as the first 30 seconds of the film will be more on the move as the three vandals plan to break into the school. Shots such as hand held and long shots even pan shots, these shots will be varied through high and low angle shots. As the film progresses and the characters go their own way shots such as close ups and extreme close ups will be placed in, as it’s these kinds of shots which will show the audience what the character is going through. At the start of the opening sequence which involves fast’s movement, for example the three vandals will be running towards the school which will mean maybe applying faster cuts and transitions. The match on action will be implemented during this point, to show where and what the character are doing. The cuts at the start of the opening sequence will be quick and sharp whereas when the vandal is in the building the transitions will be slower and more disorientating, just a horror should be.

The sound at the start of the opening sequence will be casual and upbeat; the audience at this point won’t be expecting any tense and spooky scenes. The tempo at the start is just enough to set a tone for the film and for the mood between breaking in the school to where the character will go onto explore parts of the school. There will be some non- diegetic sound as there will be diegetic sound too. There will be a range of strange and disorientating sounds, which the character playing as the vandal will be expressed to.

The credits of the film will be shown mainly at the end however there will be some at the start. The credits that we will be putting will be done with a special effects using adobe after effects. This will allow us to film at the same time as showing credits as you would see in everyday box office films. The size and the font of the credits will be casual as we don’t want to start the film with the means to give the audience indication that it’s a full out horror straight from the beginning. It’s about making the audience think why we’ve done that and what’s does it express.

Research & Planning Essay 1 (Resident Evil)

In the opening sequence of Resident Evil 3 the credits appear with a DNA based effect with the mood signifying that it’s a Thriller there’s no sign at this point of Horror/Action film, as the film hasn’t really begun yet. The opening sequence is based in a deserted house, the atmosphere at the start would suggest that it’s a Thriller more or less Horror, The main character in the opening sequence is made to look dazed and more puzzled. The character has already been constructed threw it’s previous sequels and has established the right mood for the audience, which is positive.
However the main character for the film also plays the role as the centre of a massive DNA experiment. The reason for the experiments is to find a match for there first experiment which was a success. There many camera shots, which would connote the setting and mood however there aren’t enough shots within the opening sequence due to the opening credits lasting some time, so there not enough to portray a story although there were some narrative enigmas. The main shots put in the opening sequence would be the establishing shot close up and match on action shot. The establishing shot is used to give the audience the image or indication that the main character is in hiding since her last film. The close up shot is crucial as the audience have the opportunity to recognise there main character from the last film, it gives that audience that sense of excitement as the have now recognised there character and they will go on a journey with her once again.
The editing within the opening sequences reveals us to a temporal ellipse as the main character is made to dream about previous problems for when she was used for testing, and how she escaped, there are many eye line matches as the characters is revealed to seem looking at things constantly. The sound in the opening sequence would suggest a calm, cool atmosphere. The sound is relevant to the last film as the audience appear to remember the sound, the tension. The tempo continues with the same intensity as the last film, the volume varies to disorientate the audience slightly.
The opening credits are revealed with the theme and setting, mood all put into the opening credits, for example the DNA style scientific credits where enhanced to give the audience that enigma that it’s a potential horror/action film. The font is medium sized which blends in with the effect for example all the different credits fit in with the shape of a DNA cell. The way the credits are done would back up the previous film from when they tried to experiment on the special weapon.
In an overall overview of this opening sequence to this sequel there isn’t that much which is put in to connote a storyline but crucial enigmas, which will potentially be followed up. There is just enough to set a mood and a potential tension compared to telling a story.

The first video contains the opening credits.


This video contains the first few minutes of the opening sequence after the credits.

Creating a Production Name

One of the first steps to filming is having a production name. It's the production name which the audience are able to spot you out.

Creating a production name was a gruelling process, we went from red shed production to red door production to red hand production, finally making a decision to call it RedLine Pictures. The reasons behind the name, well we asked our self the question hundreds and hundreds of time over until we had a clear reason for why we decided to call it RedLine Pictures. When someone gets killed in a horror movie or when someone is bleeding they always tend to leave a trail of blood with them, so the really the reason behind the Redline was because of that.

The production name start with a road lane style introduction until it leads to a pure line of blood which is the Production name. Creating and perfecting is an absolute different matter. It's great having an idea but creating it is something else. A lot of rendering and different effects gave my group the final touch which is quite creative and 'WOW' to look at.

Brainstorming for an Idea

Before we started to we had to talk about what the idea was going to be, also we had to talk about Health and Safety, this sheet of paper was the final brainstorm of our idea, it contains the story and a overall risk assessment on about any dangers or violations that we may approach, and how we as a group will avoid that.

Preliminary Sequence

Preliminary Sequence is a form of pre production research and planning. It’s a great opportunity to put to the test various different shots that may feature in the opening sequence of my choice. I’m at that stage were I’m still choosing what idea to explore and create. So the preliminary Sequence will be a more, ‘Pick some shots and see what they look like’.

This preliminary sequence that my group choose to do was a straight forward basic clip, where we would address the following areas, (match on action, 180 degree rule various transitions, sounds and dialogue). The location that we choose to film was within the school premises using a corridor leading to the gymnasium. We used only a HD Sony camcorder with a tripod; however we tried to make the use of some hand-held shots.

We encountered some problems when filming, most of all the back round sound as we choose a large area to film, the echo’s of our voices made it hard to hear the dialogue of the characters. We also faced the task when editing to fade two shots together tricky, as the software that we used was highly complex (Sony Vegas).

I made a better understanding of how to create and shoot the opening sequence after attempting the preliminary sequence, for example more creative (hand- held) shots make the film more enjoyable and interesting for the audience watching the film.

Research and Planning

As you may know before filming and posting ideas of my final idea. It's important to reasearch and plan, just like in the real film industry, Pre- production is where I will decide upon my real idea making sure that it's all planned out before I have to film (storyboarding, audio) etc.

Before I film I will be asking myself many questions constantly to make sure that the idea is possible, however most of all am I on target for example I could ask myself the question, Is this film realistic to be made? or Have I done enough planning and research?



It's alot of work even though the film (opening sequence) is roughly lasting about 2 minutes. I am currently on the stage of planning my final idea, but before I do that, I did some research on a well made film based on my genre which has a mixture of conventions like Horror/Thriller. Panic room was the film that I chose to research about, to understand the atmosphere, mood, editing, camera shots of the openinng sequence.

The Team

Meet The Team

View more presentations from Dalveer.

Introduction

Hello, My name is Dalveer Gandam and this is my As Media studies blog, everything and anything I do to my film (coursework) will be put here, inside the blog. All my reserch and planning, my storyboarding everything will go in here, and I hope you will enjoy viewing my final piece.