Delays

Well unfortunately the weather (as always) turned out worse than expected so it was nearly impossible for me to even attempt to go down to the field to take pictures. This presents a rather large dilemma. Mud is one thing but what if it rains the whole time of our filming slot? Sure there's no point worrying about "What if's" but its something to consider.

Out door locations are very dependent on weather. If it appears the weather won't change during our time to film, I may have to consider an indoor set such as the school. Hopefully things get better. Tomorrow, I'll try my hardest to get pictures though according to my weather map, it doesn't look so.

Time Management

Tomorrow (Tuesday the 29th) is calling for rain later in the afternoon so I'll be getting up early to get some pictures of the filming site. I'll be taking pictures about 6:30 a.m until about 10 a.m.

Hopefully, the rains will stay off. If it does rain I'll just wait till early Wednesday morning.

Facebook Questionaire

So after posting my storyboard on Youtube, I designed a Questionaire on Facebook to recieve some feedback from my friends.

1. What genre do you believe this is?
2. What did you think?
3. Is there anything you feel it needs?
4. How old are you?
5. What gender are you? (I'll be scared if you put, I don't know)
6. Would you go to see this?
7. What certificate would you give this film just from the storyboard?
8. What is your favorite genre of film?
9. Who's your favorite director?
10. What do you think of the type of music I have selected?

The results were quite postive. A lot of good feedback. I asked 20 of my friends aged between 14-22. Though this being Facebook, only 9 got back to me. However, this was still good and gave me very clear results.

For number one, most said fantasy/sci-fi/horror. This is good because this means, just from the storyboard, they were able to determine genre which means I kept to the conventions.

For number two and three, a lot of people said the narration wasn't clear. However, this was just a storyboard and I forgot to put what the heck was happening in it. Also, the intro isn't meant to be too clear till the end.

Question four, my friends were ranged between 14-22. I purposely chose these people because they're my targetted audience.

Question five actually landed roughly equal with five boys and four girls.

Most people for question six announced yes though I believe this is just for the sake of knowing me. Once again, most of them stated they needed more narration.

The Age Certificate was quite uniamous. 7 out of 9 said said PG-13 (or 12) while the other two were quite unsure.

Number eight and nine were just general questions just to see what people would answer. Since I have such a varied mixture of friends, as predicted, they all came out different ranging from Fantasy to Rom-Com's.

Number 10 involved their thoughts on music. This was rather positive saying it added to the scene well and made it more excitement which was very pleasing to hear.

Storyboard Animatic

So yeah, it totaled 1:50 with all the shots cut at the time. Even without most of the title screens, this gives me a great idea about how the film's gonna play out. The music is Def Con by Globus. This is not the song I am going to use (cause its copyrighted)but its the song type I wanna use. Fast pace that get's you sitting on the edge of your seat. I was going to add voices but then I realized I didn't have the computer program to do so properly.

Enjoy!

Shot List

Shot 1: Establishing shot- Pan of Fields

Shot 2: Close up- Princess Hope's feet

Shot 3: Long, wide shot- Princess sliding at fork in the road

Shot 4: Mid shot- Princess running towards camera

Shot 5: Worm's view- Princess jumping over camera

Shot 6: Worm's view- Villain (Prince Lupus) jumping over camera

Shot 7: Mid shot, slight low angle- Side view of Vivian

Shot 8: Long shot- Front, full view of Vivian before panning around to behind a tree

Shot 9: Mid shot- Side view of Princess running

Shot 10: POV, handheld- Princess's view of path in front of her then she turns her head back causing her to fall

Shot 11: Wide Shot, Still- Princess rolling down the hill

Shot 12: Close up- Princess's face as she hits the ground

Shot 13: Low angle canted- Vivian walking under a bridge

Shot 14: Wide, long angle- Wall of trees as Princess bursts through followed closely by Prince

Shot 15: Cut to Mid Shot- Prince Lupus shouting

Shot 16: Cut to Mid Shot- Princess Hope replying

Shot 17: Long shot, side view- Princess Hope suddenly turning around, swinging the sword

Shot 18: Mid shot, front view- Princess Hope jumping and raising the sword above her head

Shot 19: Close up- Blade slicing inches in front of the camera

Shot 20: Extreme close up- Prince Lupus's bloodied hand with Princess Hope running off into the distance. Soon as she disappears, Prince's hand moves

Shot 21: Mid shot, back view, handheld- Back of Princess's head as she's running away

Shot 22: Long, wide shot, side view- Princess running through forest

Shot 23: Mid shot, front view- Princess running up to camera then panting

Shot 24: Mid shot, 3/4 behind view- Princess looking up at two trees forming an arch

Shot 25: Extreme Close up- Princess's mouth breathing the word, "Activate" and raising the sword to her forehead

Shot 26: Mid shot, side view- Princess standing still with her eyes shut until she hears Prince Lupus behind her

Shot 27: Mid shot, 2/4 view- Princess throwing blade into the activated portal

Shot 28: Mid shot, front view- Princess shielding her eyes with her arms from intense light

Shot 29: Long shot, side view- Princess flying backwards

Shot 30: Mid shot, bird's eye view- Looking down at Princess lying, exhausted on the ground with a smile on her face

Shot 31: POV- Looking up at Prince Lupus from Princess's POV with scowl on his expression

Shot 32: Cut back to Princess, same shot- Princess laughs

Shot 33: Black screen with the words and Princess saying, "You lose" followed by blade stab

Shot 34: Close up- Blade in grab with Vivian in the distance then she runs up to it remaining focussed on her feet

Shot 35: Mid shot, side view- Vivian suddenly looking up and gasping before cutting to a black screen with her scream

Shot 36: Mid shot, back view- Vivian lying dead with a stab through her back and Prince Lupus standing over her

Shot 37: Mid shot- Prince Lupus's torso with his mouth and focuss on the bloodied blade in his hands

Shot 38: Close up- Prince Lupus's mouth as he speaks

Ends with a fading black screen as he laughs evilly.

Film Treatment- Opening 2 minutes

The opening begins with the two production companies followed by the title on black screens. After the title sequence ends, the screen flashes white and the scene suddenly appears behind a dark tree give contrast very similar to Terminator 2 opening. The camera immediately begins to pan left revealing a large field with trees behind it; the establishing shot. It is early morning and there is a strange uneasiness. All is quiet save some asyncronous sounds of crows. We hear wings fluttering by and suddenly the shot changes to a close up of a girl's feet running past the camera and the fast paced music slowly fades in. We cut to a long shot of the girl sliding to a stop at a fork in the road then running towards the camera.


Just before she hits, the camera shot changes again to a worm's eye view where the girl leaps over- followed a few seconds later by my villain, Prince Lupus, jumping over. The moment he passes, the scene cuts to a black screen with the Director's name, producer's name and editor's name in white (my name). That fades to a completely new scene of a young girl walking past the camera from the side view. She is smiling with a phone in her hand playing music and a bag in her arm. There is a surrean almost unreal calm in this peaceful location. There is no non-digetci music playing over giving the audience a sense, something bad's going to happen. We cut to a long shot of her walking towards the camera but slowly start to pan right behind a tree fading into the next title sequence listing the first actor. The title sequence fades back to a close up of the girl's face from a side view. I'll be running beside her giving the camera a shaky feel. Her breathing is really emphasized with the dark music playing over it but just lightly. It cuts again to a black screen with the second actor's name then back to the chase. This time the camera is in her hand giving us a POV shot. Her breathing is even harder and louder. She suddenly trips when attempting to look back and then we cut to a wide shot of her rolling down a hill. The camera then cuts to a close up of her face as she hits the ground with a loud thud. The third actors title screen comes up, this time listing all the final actors.


As you can see, editing is speeding up trying to get the audience's hearts racing. But just as tension is built, we cut back to a low angle on Vivian beginning to walk under a bridge. The shot fades into another black title screen listing the music producer. Unlike the previous times, the next shot cuts suddenly to a wall of trees and then Princess Hope bursting through now clutching the sword in her hand. She is covered in mud (from her fall) save her face which still radiates somewhat. Prince Lupus marches out behind her then shouts, "GET BACK HERE BY THE ORDER OF THE KING!!!"

Princess Hope briefly turns her head to look back at Prince Lupus and shouts, "YOU'LL NEVER BE KING!!!"

With that we cut to a long shot of her whirling around. She goes to jump then we cut to a front mid-shot, high angle view of her jumping towars Prince Lupus with the Moonblade above her head. She slashes down just inches in front of the camera. The scene fades to a black title screen of the Screenplay Director, Script Writer and Casting Director (me). It fades to a close-up shot of the villian's hand with blood splatter. In the distance we can just see Princess Hope running away. As she disappears out of sight, the villian's hand moves.

All sound cuts leaving the sound of her breathing and a faint heart beat as we cut to a mid-shot of the back of her head with a hand held camera. It cuts to a long, wide shot of a forest with her running through some trees. It cuts to her running up to the camera then bending over and panting heavily. The camera spins around to a 3/4 long shot from behind of her standing up and staring at two trees that form sort of an oval shape. It cuts to a close-up of her mouth as she raises the sword to her lips and breathes the word, "Activate."

We cut to a mid shot of her resting her head against the sword as a faint whirring. Suddenly Prince Lupus shouts, "DON'T YOU DARE!" causing her to turn her head. Ignoring him she turns back around and flings the sword into the portal. We cut to a mid-shot front view of her covering her eyes with her arms as a bright light suddenly shines on her face. She suddenly goes flying backwards and we cut to a match-on-action shot of the same fall from the side at a slightly longer angle. We then cut to a mid-shot of her hitting the ground and looking up at the sky. There is an expression of relief on her face. This scene is slowed down and a sad piano piece plays gently hinting she's about to die. She laughs as we cut to a mid shot of Prince Lupus leaning over with a scowl on his face. We cut to another black screen where the words, "You lose" appear with her reading them. We then hear a blade stabbing down and the black screen fades to the final scene with Vivian walking towards the sword. She screams, "What the hell?!" Then runs up to the blade that has just suddenly appear however the shot just remains on the bottom of the sword. We cut to a close-up, side view of her head suddenly snapping up and she gasping.

The screen cuts to black where we hear a blood curdling scream from Vivian then we cut back to a mid-shot of her lying dead on the ground with a stab wound in her back and Prince Lupus standing over her with the sword in hand. The camera rolls over her then slowly rises up his body to the bloody sword in his hand and just a smile on his face. It cuts to a close-up of his mouth with him smiling and saying, "Foolish girl... such a pitfal attempt. Like I said, I am the new ruler of this world. None...will stop me."

The screen cuts to black as an evil laughter echoes over.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day- Opening Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcisPdJVNl8


The opening of Terminator 2 is a really good opening. It was quite slow but effective. It opens with a high angle Establishing shot of heavy trafic down a street. This gives no indication to what city it is but it gives us a clear indication of time (90's, modern) and setting because most congested streets are located in and around cities. It cuts to a mid-shot of people crossing the busy street- still no indication of setting. This is setting up a norm. That these people are living normal lives without even thinking twice about suddenly being burned to death. There is quite ominous sad music playing over top. Sound is the most effective piece of this opening. We know just from the music, this scene isn't going to last.

The scene cuts to children playing in a playground and in particular a girl swining on a swing. The camera follows the girl then it begins to slow. The sound and movements slow. The girl's laughter suddenly becomes unsettling. There is something oddly scary about a young girl's laughter that is really chilling. Steadily the music builds into a creshendo which builds tension and the screen is fading to white until it suddenly immediately cuts into what looks like a skeleton sitting in a car. There is a sudden contrast in everything; light, sound and mise-en-scene. Its night time, there is no longer any sound save a light wind blowing a piece of metal around and everything and everyone is burned. We're only like 25 seconds in an already just from this the plot is realized. It is also here the city is revealed but no real evidence (since its destroyed) to if it really is Los Angeles. A very clever low-budget trick. The camera slowly pans up fading the camera shot from a close-up to a long/wide shot of the full devastion. It then smoothly cuts to another close-up pan of remains of the playground we saw earlier with skulls lining the ground.

This is a complete parallel to what we saw 15 seconds ago. It opens with congestion, here it opens with the same congested street with dead bodies. You get the idea. Linda Hamilton's voice then comes over the scene to narrate what happens. We learn why we're staring at scenes of devastion. This really sets up the whole story. The Director mixes light non-digectic sound with a non-digectic narration as well as Digectic sounds playing in the background. A really effective piece that really sets up location and story. As she finishes her narration, the camera zooms into a single skull in the dirt and stays for a second allowing time for the audience to lean and try to figure out what they're looking for then WHAM suddenly a large metal foot comes down and crushes the skull causing everyone to jump.

Silence is a very good tension builder. Silence is very unsettling because we live in a world where hearing nothing is nearly impossible and when we do, its quite scary. For a whole minute we watch an epic battle scene between man and machine but the camera remains simple. At the two minute marker (the length of our films) we have the plot but its not till 2:30 that Linda Hamilton finishes her narration; giving us a summary of the first film then a little taste of this one: "The second (Terminator) was sent to attack John himself when he was just a boy..."

Now our films can only be a maxium of 2:10 however, the time between 1 minute and 2 minutes was just battle scenes. The narration took thirty seconds so it could be very easy to do something similar in our own films. Maybe not recreate a battle scene like that but just the camera work, mise-en-scene, sound and lighting. All of it was relatively simple. James Cameron usually only used close-ups, long/wide shots and mid shots. That's pretty much it.

A little note on titles; the titles always appeared in the middle of the scene in white. It started with the Production companies followed by the director's name and producers. Very simple but effective again. You could see it but it didn't take anything away from the scene behind it.

Also the editing is quite interesting. As the clip goes on it picks up pace. Shots become shorter and it cuts faster near the end.

All in all, a very good piece.

Music Research

Now, as I stated in my soon-to-be-uploaded slide show, I plan to add in music afterwards cause its a lot easier to see how the scene looks before deciding what would fit rather than the other way around.

However, I do have the scene in my head so here are some possible ideas. These songs are copyrighted so I can't use them but they'll give an idea of what I'm after.

Def Con- Immediate Music



Another idea is something someone made for a villain from the Sonic the Hedgehog series (ignore the video) but the song is creepy but has a nice beat behind it.

Blog Evaluation 1

Alright so a few before filming, my teacher requested we evaluate our blogs at this current stage ad give it a current mark as if it were the exam board (yikes!)

As you've probably seen up to this stage, there isn't too- much to erm mark. However, this gives me a good idea what needs to be done and I do know what must be done.

Here's where this blog is setting at now:

1. There is basic research into similar products and a potential target audience (well I do know my target audience...just gotta show it)- Level 2
~I am going to be improving this relatively soon. More research into fantasy films and pitch my idea to my target audience and have them vote.

2. There is Proficent organization of Actors, Location, Costumes or Props- Level 3
~I have my actors, I have my location and I have my props. Costume is just the last detail needed though my sister and I have started working on her dress. Its almost completely. I'll be getting in contact with my villain to organize his costume (yes its a he). Pictures will provided within the next couple of weeks.

3. There is basic work on shotlists, layouts, scripting or storyboarding- Level 2
~In other words, I've written about it but its still on paper. I am planning by next week to have all that stuff uploaded.

4. There is a good level of care in the presentation of the research and planning- High 3/Low 4
~I will upload then my powerpoint of ideas and what my class thought of it.

5. Time management is good- Level 3
~ I have everything planned on a schedule that will allow things to go wrong before I run out of time. These films are do in May and if I can get the whole film done (including editing) by March which leaves me April to do Evaluations or final work.

So yeah, on average, a high level 2/low level 3 thus far.