Preliminary Task 2 - CCR

Grace Watson

23 June 2020

Media Studies

Preliminary Task 2 - CCR

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Question 1:

Question 2:

Question 3:

Question 4:

P.T. 2 - Sweetness - Final Edit

Grace Watson
12 June 2020
Media Studies
P.T. 2 - Sweetness - Final Edit

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P.T. 2 - Sweetness - Rough Edit

Grace Watson
12 June 2020
Media Studies
P.T. 2 - Sweetness - Rough Edit

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Preliminary Task 2 - CCR Planning

Grace Watson

11 June 2020

Media Studies

Preliminary Task 2 - CCR Planning

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Planning for two after effects:

1. Glitch effect for title of 'Sweetness'.
How To Make a Glitch Effect in After Effects

SOUND EFFECTS:
I found this fantastic YouTube channel called 'Free Sound Stock - Free Download' which films and posts all different kinds of sound effects.
I used their: ice cubes falling into a glass, hand through leaves, fire breather sound effects.

Question 1 {mind-map}:

·         Abductor = usually feared and disliked by many, especially parents.

Question 2 {slideshow}:

·         Evokes the fear of fear and terror within viewers – especially parents. They almost put themselves in the mother’s shoes, imagining how TERRIBLE the situation is and would be for them – emotions evoked, sympathy.

·         Target audience = adults and older-aged teenagers aged from about 17 years old up. 16+ or 18+. The older age group of GEN Z – they say they enjoy watching films from the comfort of their “own homes” where they can watch what they feel like watching, without hindrances.

·         According to my personal survey, thriller is one of the most loved genres, and according to sources online, thriller films such as the ‘Titanic’ have grossed up to $659 million on Box Office, proving that because my film is a thriller, it already has some sort of chance at success (as long as it’s content is excellent, which, is).

·         Will be advertised online = iGens and GenZ love social media and the Internet, with … % of the total world’s population being connected to the internet. I will releases adverts on YouTube which has 2 billion logged-in monthly users with 81% of those aged between 15-25 years old in the U.S. Advertising on YT will DEFS be seen. Would release it simultaneously…

·         Characters = Amberly (acted by Aria Ironside) = she is young – vulnerable character that the audiences sympathise with. We put her hair in two ponytails = highlights her youth & innocence. Audiences, mothers specifically can relate with her being young and vulnerable – feel protective of her.

·         Theo = scary. Wearing a trench coat which is both dark and dirty = something hidden, shady character that he would need to conceal/hide something = triggers worry within the viewers = causes fear.

·         Narrative – chronological, easily-understandable. Sense of mystery at beginning – audience feels unsure of how trustworthy the man is, but don’t yet know what he is about to do – begin guessing and suspecting the worst cuz they draw a line between the two dots = scary man, small child…

·         Made from the third-person POV, as if we are sitting in the back of the car, and then in the passengers eat next to the man, and then following him on his ‘journey’. This is created through the many over-the-shoulder shots.

·         Lots of fades/dips to and from black. Black resembles death and fear = build up suspense and confusion.

·         Ringing sound during chase scene – almost a lack of sound. The searing, sharp sound of the ring causes viewers to feel uncomfortable. Engages the audience even though they may be cringing from the pain – rings the programme to LIFE!

Question 3 {video}:

·         Have begun learning how to do a title effect on after effects – still not 100% confident with it, but getting there.

·         Learnt how to download sound effects off YT. I found this fantastic YouTube channel called 'Free Sound Stock - Free Download' which films and posts all different kinds of sound effects.

·         I used their: ice cubes falling into a glass, hand through leaves, fire breather sound effects.

·         Learnt to do an ink bleed through on after effects. This got quite confusing in some areas, and so Adison Saxby, helped me and taught me. I battled to actually find two after effects on my own, because I was so unsure of what to search on YT.

·         Re-learnt how to convert YT videos to MP3. I learnt this briefly for PT1, but had forgotten. Now am very confident with it.

·         I really enjoyed adding all the sound effects. I had so much fun choosing and fitting them to match the shots.

·         Was a challenge editing the transition on after effects.

·         PEERS REVISION: …….

·         Went REALLY well shooting the shots in chronological order just as they would appear in the final product. Last time we did not film them in order at all. Filming in order gave us a sense of organisation and clarity – felt as though it went much smoother and more easily.

·         It also went well filming with the actors we did – they were EXCELLENT which made it SO much easier to capture fantastic shots.

·         Went wrong – we had planned to have a makeup artist to do the character’s makeup to improve realism and make the shots even more believable. Unfortunately, the makeup artist pulled out on the day and so next time will plan that better. May use Oscar Ironside as an actor – he seems to have a great acting ability (evident in Ella Ironside (a past AS Media Studies Student’s film).

Question 4 {Prezi}:

·         Learnt how to download sound effects off YT. I found this fantastic YouTube channel called 'Free Sound Stock - Free Download' which films and posts all different kinds of sound effects.

·         I used their: ice cubes falling into a glass, hand through leaves, fire breather sound effects.

·         I used the YT to MP3 converter to convert my music soundtracks and all my sound effects so that they’d be compatible with the Adobe Premier Pro Software.

·         I learnt how to manage audio when filming. I was on lighting for PT 1, and so gained a new skill now learning to use the audio equipment. I held the microphone on the boom pole, and supported it above the camera, ensuring that it did not come into the camera shots.

·         Learnt to work the …. Camera more proficiently as well, as I had to shoot the higher shots (our camera man, Chene, was too short to shoot these shots.

CCR Distribution Question - Answer

Grace Watson

3 June 2020

Media Studies

CCR Distribution Question - Answer

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The thriller genre is a popular and throughly enjoyed genre which, according to my survey, placed in the top 4 of most loved genres. Because of this, I would aim to both fund and distribute my short film through crowd-funding on sites such as IndieGoGo and Kickstarter, with the hope and conclusion that because audiences enjoy thrillers (and my film is one), they may be very interested in funding it, in anticipation for watching it soon. This way I can show those in higher positions in the industry that I am able to work hard, think creatively, and reach out to the crowds to fund my film, basically creating the image of being a person “who gets stuff done” (according to a source). Because I, personally, would not like to post a private YouTube link to my film for the audiences to watch online for reasons such as not wanting my film to be pirated or my accounts hacked, I would release various teasers and snippets from the film instead, such as the opening sequence, for example, of the strange man abducting the young girl, Amberly, which instantly reveals what my film is all about, perhaps instantly captivating, exciting and building anticipation within the possible audiences right from the beginning, encouraging them to contribute to our film’s fund.

Once my crowd-funding site is set up for people to donate and assist, I would then confirm that I have actually prepared my film for distribution, ensuring that it’s in “1080p” (the preferred resolution for cinema screenings), that it’s in the correct format - this can be achieved by outputting the film as either an Apple ProRes 422 codec or an Avid DNxHD codec as a .mov file to consequently obtain the best results and highest quality. Additionally, I would ensure to load my film onto an .mp4 digital file so that when it is released, it’s all ready to go, of great quality. 

My film will be enhanced through the addition of subtitles to cater for the deaf and for those of different languages. My aim is to go big, I back my film, and so therefore my initial release will be worldwide (because it’s on SVOD services), therefore the film must have subtitles in a few languages such as Maori and Mandarine to cater for those of different languages.

To assist in submitting my film, brokering deals with the VOD platforms, encoding, packaging and delivering my film to digital platforms, I will hire a third-party aggregator. Although it may be expensive, I’ve worked so tirelessly and diligently on producing my film, and would prefer for it to be distributed and submitted by someone who has experience, contacts and sound advice in the industry, as opposed to trying to figure it out myself and perhaps not being successful. If my film blows up greatly in the long run, the cost of the third-party aggregator will seem next to nothing!

Although cinema is an amazing place to launch a film and build up awareness, with the virus having recently broken out and the fact that my film is still a small Indie film, not necessarily very well known compared to large Hollywood blockbusters, I’ve decided to rather distribute via VOD platforms as opposed to theaters. According to sources, Neon’s subscriber growth went “BOOM!”, and Netflix seems to be growing in popularity as well... therefore it seems to be a great decision! From research, many individuals say they far prefer watching films from the comfort of their own homes anyway, with 4.388 billion of the worlds population being connected to the internet. My film will be presented to Netflix, Neon and Amazon Prime (all SVODs). Additionally, it will hopefully be released to a TVOD site where audiences pay-per-view (this will bring in additional finance for us as the film-making crew). Because I’ve decided to use crowd funding, I would opt for electronic sell through (EST) viewing where the viewers have unlimited viewing access to the film once they pay, almost to reward and thank those who have contributed to the film’s fund for doing so.

Finally, my film will be promoted in a way as to build up a buzz and excitement for it. This will be done, as mentioned earlier, through the release of trailers and snippets from the film, as well as through creating a website titled “All Things Sweet” (relating to the film’s name of “Sweetness”). On this website we will post up games and competitions to stimulate involvement and active viewing and anticipation within the future audiences. An emailing list will be set up which we will use to email those who sign up with the latest announcements, competitions and reminders to further captivate and excite them. A press kit will be drawn up describing our company, some of my personal stories (such as experiences I've encountered throughout the film-making process) and the contents of the film - a plot synopsis. Images and clear, bright, interesting fonts will be used.

Preliminary Task 2 - Planning order of shots

Grace Watson
20 May 2020
Media Studies
Preliminary Task 2 - Planning order of shots

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= establishing shot of the park from behind car.
= Pan shot from abductor's P.O.V. looking at the girl's mom leaving to go to the bathroom.
= Match-on-action of man opening and then closing the car door.
= mid-track shot and cut closer to an over-the-shoulder shot of man walking towards the little girl           (shaky camera).
= mid-shot from side.
= high angle shot from the man's P.O.V. looking down at the girl, offering her a sweet.
= low angle shot from girl's perspective looking at the man, accepting the sweet.
= mid-P.O.V. shot of him looking down at her - she'll be smiling and will then begin 'pause' and             realise that something is fishy.
= close-up of her face when she realises that it's strange and she shouldn't take sweets from strangers     (discovery moment) - kind of like a 'pause' moment.
= full-shot of the girl dropping the sweet.
= birds eye-view/high-angle shot of the sweet as it falls.
= hand-held shot chasing after the two actors.
= birds-eye view shot from the top of the playground element - Theo chasing Aria.
= mid-P.O.V. shot from Theo's perspective chasing Aria.
= wide/long shot of Theo grabbing Aria and her fighting back - lots of camera movement in this shot.
= mid-shot of Aria and Theo hitting heads.
= close-up of Aria holding her head and stopping fighting because of the pain.
= extreme-wide shot of Theo carrying her towards his car.
= extreme-close-up of half of Theo's face as he walks towards his car, carrying Aria - shadow on his       face.
= extreme-close-up shot of Theo's hand opening the door.
= wide-shot shot of him opening door.
= wide-shot of him shoving Aria into the car.
= close-up of Aria hitting her head against the side of the inside of the car.
= extreme-close-up of her painful spot.
= mid-shot of Theo closing the door.
= track shot of him walking toward his door and getting into his car.
= extreme wide-shot of the car driving off.
= wide shot of Aria's mom coming out of the bathroom.
= close-up of her looking around and then yelling for Aria.
= mid-track shot running after her as she runs in the car’s direction, yelling for Amberly in pure distress.
= extreme close-up of the mother’s eye - stressed, agitated, confused, deeply worried.
= BLACKOUT

Notes/thoughts on planning PT 2 during quarantine

Grace Watson
19 May 2020
Media Studies
Notes/thoughts on planning PT 2 during quarantine

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Working from home could be a slight hindrance at times because we could not always discuss directly with one another to make a plan - we had to do this over call and sometimes battled to find a time slot we could all fit for the call.

Being in person makes brainstorming easier in some cases because you can easily bounce ideas off one another.

We had never done a concept or a treatment before and weren't able to ask Teacher Bianca questions very easily.

However, working from home definitely had its benefits - I had far more time to think about great ideas while maybe helping with housework or going for a walk.
I could really spend a whole afternoon solely working on the planning and developing of the idea to create an excellent guideline for us to follow during the production process.

I, personally, LOVE my PT 2 idea! I really focused on creating an idea that would be simple yet effective, easy to master with room to excel... I believe this is exactly what our plot-line will do! We're in a great place in terms of planning - all my planning is done, up-to-date and handed in. I'm ready to film!

The only slight problem is that we still need to finalise our talent, and may face some troubles there if the male actor we hope to use cannot make it. We will also have to be very smart in how we film in public, not allowing those walking around the park to distract us. One of Hunter Look's responsibilities for this project is to complete the shot list. We actually haven't had a moment to discuss the shots, although I did plan some shot ideas in my personal planning, so we will have to iron that out asap.

Preliminary Task 2 - Planning

Grace Watson
16 April 2020
Media Studies
Preliminary Task 2 - Planning

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Meet GCH Productions:

Grace Watson (far left)

Hi, I'm Grace Charlotte Watson. I am seventeen years old and very passionate about Media Studies, my dream job being to become a TV presenter or some sort of role in the media industry. I love creativity and have loved learning to film, edit and work with a team to produce a product of excellence.

Chene Harris (far right)

Hi my name is Chene Harris, i am 18 years old, i am an AS student that goes to city impact church school and i chose to take media studies this year to get to know more of the technical side of things towards a camera and how they work and understand the process behind everything that goes into making a film.

Hunter Look (middle)

Hi my name is Hunter Look i am 16 years old, i belong to city impact church school, i am an AS student in year 12 and i chose media to understand the art of media and how it gets produced.

Together, we are GCH Productions, with a zeal and excitement for creating excellent productions.

Brainstorming:
Part 1 - Spider-web diagram:

Part 2 - Our main plot idea:

A large, tall man offers a young, small girl a 'sweet'. He invites her to walk with him to his car where the sweet is. She happily goes along with him. Soon after handing her the sweet (which is the object that is 'given'), he then invites her to get into his car. She has a 'discovery' or 'revelation' moment, and remembers how one should never take a sweet from or get into a car with a stranger, and so therefore she realises that perhaps this man is a danger to be around. This will be symbolised by her looking up at him worriedly, politely saying, "Um, no... thank, ... you... no.. thanks," and dropping the sweet on the ground as she turns around and begins running away at a high speed (a bit of a stutter - sound revealing her nervousness) [we may use a close-up shot of her face revealing her worry, and then a low-angle shot looking up at the man revealing his superiority and her vulnerability in this moment]. He will then dash after her, trying to grab her - the chase scene of him chasing after her. This chase-sequence will be followed by him managing to catch up to her and pick her up, with her hitting her head against his on accident, hurting herself. He will carry her, at pace, to his car, shove her inside, hand her a dirty teddy-bear from behind the car seat, and then drive off, the little girl screaming. [Extreme close-up of his face as he carries her to reveal his determination and awful character - pale face, blue rings under his eyes, really strange man].

Once they have driven away, a wide-shot of the mother leaving the bathroom and gently calling "Amberlyyy, where are you hiding?" in a warm, kind voice, a relief from the strangeness of and discomfort caused by the man.

Dialogue may be:

MAN:

Hey little gal, how are you?

GIRL:

Hi, um, I'm good thank you.

MAN:

Where's your mum?

GIRL:

{points to bathroom entrance} I'm waiting for her.

MAN:

Ah... I don't suppose yu'd a like a sweet while you wait, would you?

GIRL:

{smiles with keen interest}.

MAN:

Come along, we'll only be two minutes.

{both begin walking to his car}

MAN:

Let's go for a drive while we wait, should we?

GIRL:

{'revelation' moment'} Um, no... thank, ... you... no.. thanks. {drops the sweet, looks up at him worriedly, and begins running away, screaming}. MOOOOOMMMMYYYYY!

{chase-scene}

... [Chene Harris will finish the script as it is her role this time round]

Once they have driven away, a wide-shot of the mother leaving the bathroom and gently calling "Ambeeerlyyyy, where are you hiding in a warm, kind voice, a relief from the strangeness of and discomfort caused by the man.

Mood board:

Storyboards:

Sound/Audio:

- Perhaps some eerie and hollow-sounding music which (paired with the drained and cold lighting) will evoke worry and discomfort in the viewer.

Video tutorial on how to improve the quality of the sound on Adobe Premier Pro in post-production:

the Jaws opening sequence:

The soundtrack of the Jaws opening sequence will be used as one of the inspirations for our product. I like how the sound starts off very soft, and then slowly becomes louder as the scene progresses, the voices are then heard and finally, as the two characters begin running away, the music becomes very soft and still, once again.

Sound effect of the bathroom door opening as the girl's mother exits.
A few options:

option 1:

option 2:

may consider different options later on.

Lighting:
- drained and cold lighting, dark and gloomy park.

Lighting between the 'cool white' and the 'day light'.


three-point lighting:

I quite like both key and key+rim lighting, so we can play around with both on set and then choose one:



Camera and camera angles:
some inspiration in what shots to use for best effect:

Props and costumes:

- The little girl's name will be 'Amberly'.

- The meaning of her name is "A Jewel-quality Fossilized Resin; As a Color the Name Refers to a Warm Honey Shade", according to Google.

- This little girl will resemble warmth and safety - the meaning of her name refers to the 'warm' honey shade, and she will be wearing warm colours - a beautiful, warm and fuzzy, red or orange cardigan, blue jeans and white sneakers. Her hair-ties will also be bright and vibrant.

- Her eyes will be bright and she will carry a freedom and joy (supports stereotype of children being care-free).

- Her hairstyle will be two pigtails - a typical childhood hairstyle, emphasising her still being a young child. My mom is really talented in this department and so will do her hair before we start filming.

- 'Amberly' will be neat and clean, bright and smiling, captured quite well, as an example, in this image:

She will almost look mis-placed in this dark and gloomy park.

In contrast,

- the man will be wearing clothing of cold colouring - greens, blues, and perhaps even faded magenta. - more specifically, he will be wearing an old, dirty (to resemble his dirty, dangerous background) jumper, and faded blue jeans that have lost their colour. His shoes will be sandals.
- covering his jumper/questionable t-shirt will be a large brown coat. This coat symbolises a hidden character - viewer may question what he is trying to hide.

Location/Setting:

-  J.F. Kennedy Park, between Castor Bay and Milford - there's a playground for the small child to be near, and a public toilet opposite it where the child can point to her mother being. In between the playground and the public toilet, there is also a parking lot where the man's car can be stationed.

large amount of room for the chase-sequence.

 

Amberly's mother is inside the public bathroom.

- I plan to make use of quite eerie, cold and drained lighting and a hollow-sounding song (non-diegetic sound) to emphasise the eeriness - this will spark irony as a park should be child-friendly - bright, happy and safe. It's as if it is being miss-used,

Having a dangerous man near such small children will evoke fear in the viewer.

Editing:
Link to some research regarding the editing basics, if I ever need to remind myself of anything throughout the production process.
The Five Editing Basics Premier Pro

Helping with the logo (contributing ideas):

examples as inspiration:

we would most definitely quite like perhaps some colour? not too much colour though - to keep it professional-looking.


CONCEPT

TITLE

Sweetness

{a kidnapping thriller}

The title of our film will be ‘Sweetness’ because throughout, there is the symbolism of the word ‘sweet’. This is evident in both the actual physical sweet (lolly) handed to the little girl (Amberly), and the man’s calling her a little “Sweetie-Pie”.

Secondly, the word ‘sweetness’ is often associated with joy and deliciousness, whereas in our film, it represents/symbolises an evil and terrible man and his ‘gestures’.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Sixteen years and older

This is because those aged under sixteen may not cope with the content of the film (abduction/little girl being separated from her mother/scary).

INSTITUTIONAL/GENRE CONVENTIONS TO BE INCLUDED

· Symbolism/iconography – the little girl’s clothing will be bright and
warm – relating to her innocence and joy. 

· The man’s clothing will be dark, dirty, dingy and old – relating to
his evilness and the disgusting act he is about to carry out.

· Irony – filming in a park (setting) where there should be many children,
running around in pure joy and excitement. However in this park there are hardly any children, it is gloomy and eerie. This irony causes the viewer to feel uncomfortable, and to worry for the child.

· Having a dangerous and questionable man near such small children will evoke fear in the viewer.

· Sound – the scene will begin with a slow tempo and soft, hollow-sounding, non-diegetic music. This will emphasise the eeriness. The soft music will slowly build up as the tension rises, and it will then drop into complete, deafening silence as the car drives away. The sudden silence will put an end to the building suspense with a loud (yet silent) ‘bang’!

· Lighting - quite eerie, cold and drained - this will spark irony as a park should be child-friendly - bright, happy and safe. It's as if it is being miss-used.

· Shadows – when filming the man, three-point lighting will be used to
create shadows over certain parts of his face. Just as parts of his face
will be concealed, he is trying to conceal his character and actions of abducting children by seeming sweet to luir the child toward his car, grabbing the child and driving away before any other problems arose.

· Narrative – the narrative itself builds excitement and suspense as the viewer follows
the man along his journey to abducting the little girl, captivating them.

· the camera’s perspective will jump between subjective
and objective which also increases suspense and evokes tension, as said by Spielberg.

· When filming from the man’s perspective, a canted,
disorientated angle will highlight his untrustworthy character.

· The door creaking (sound effect added in editing) as the mother opens the
door – the creaking evokes worry within the viewer.

·  Perhaps the man will have a knife evident in his pocket. The knife resembling danger and death.

PLOT SYNOPSIS

The opening shot will be an establishing shot, revealing a white van parked in a parking lot, facing a children’s park. The second shot will be a POV shot from the man sitting in the van, looking towards the park at the children, scanning (pan). This large, tall man will step out of his van and walk toward a young, small girl who he then offers a 'sweet'. He invites her to walk with him to his car where the sweet is. She happily goes along with him. Soon after handing her the sweet (which is the object that is 'given'), he then invites her to get into his car. She has a 'discovery' or 'revelation' moment, and remembers how one should never take a sweet from or get into a car with a stranger, and so therefore she realises that perhaps this man is a danger to be around. This will be symbolised by her looking up at him worriedly, politely saying, "Um, no... thank, ... you... no.. thanks," and dropping the sweet on the ground as she turns around and begins running away at a high speed (a bit of a stutter - sound revealing her nervousness) [we may use a close-up shot of her face revealing her worry, and a low-angle shot looking up at the man revealing his superiority and her vulnerability when she says no thank you]. This will then progress into a chase scene in which he will dash after her, trying to grab her. This chase-sequence will be followed by him managing to catch up to her and pick her up, with her hitting her head against his on accident, hurting herself which will cause her to stop resisting and start holding that spot and crying in pain. He will carry her, at pace, to his car, shove her inside, hand her a dirty teddy-bear from behind the car seat, and then drive off, the little girl screaming. [Extreme close-up of his face as he carries her to reveal his determination and awful character - pale face, blue rings under his eyes, really strange man].

Once they have driven away, a wide-shot will reveal the mother leaving the bathroom and gently calling "Amberlyyy, where are you hiding?” in a warm, kind voice; a relief from the strangeness of and discomfort caused by the man.

ACTION AND PACE

·     Begins slowly, suspenseful and mysterious.

·     Suddenly speeds up when the little girl begins running away.

·     The pace then remains quick and tight until the car begins driving away, when all goes slow and eerie once again.

EXTRAS

· There will be hardly anyone else in site – vacant, quiet, eerie atmosphere.

· The music will be non-diegetic.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF HOW TO BALANCE THE CLIMAX AND RESOLUTION

·      Very obvious and drastic hand-held camera movements during the chase-scene, flicking between the POV of both characters.

· Eerie and slow handheld camera movements most of the time – highlighting that eeriness.
These shots, although hand-held, won’t be too drastic and will remain relatively still. 

CHARACTERS AND NAMES

- The little girl's name will be 'Amberly'.

- The meaning of her name is a “Jewel-quality Fossilized Resin; As a Color the Name Refers to a Warm Honey Shade", according to Google.

- This little girl will resemble warmth and safety - the meaning of her name refers to the 'warm' honey shade, and she will be wearing warm colours - a beautiful, warm and fuzzy, red or orange cardigan, blue jeans and white sneakers. Her hair-ties will also be bright and vibrant.

- Her eyes will be bright and she will carry a freedom and joy, and will be neat and clean, bright and smiling (supports stereotype of children being care-free).

- Her hairstyle will be two pigtails - a typical childhood hairstyle, emphasising her still being a young child, innocent and trusting. [My mom is really talented in this department and so will do her hair before we start filming].

- She will almost look mis-placed in this dark and gloomy park.

In contrast,

- the man will be wearing clothing of cold colouring - greens, blues, and perhaps even faded magenta. - more specifically, he will be wearing an old, dirty (to resemble his dirty, dangerous background) jumper, and faded blue jeans that have lost their colour. His shoes will be sandals. His dirtiness will match the gloomy eeriness of the park and the action he is about to carry out.

All of the above will cause Amberly to stick out, highlighting right from the beginning her vulnerability in the dark place.

PRACTICALITIES OF FILMING/CONTENT

· This idea is justifiably realistic – it is a reality that MANY children are abducted and separated from their parents all around the world, and for many the possibility of their child being abducted is an actual worry – this will relate to the viewer and cause them to really engage with the clip.

· A safety issue may arise with regards to driving the car – we must ensure that the driver of the car concentrates on driving properly when he drives away, and that he doesn’t only focus solely on his acting role. Road safety is most important.

·  Filming at J.F. Kennedy Park in Castor Bay. No permission is required.

·      Filming will take place during the week after school between 5 and 7 pm to ensure that the park is as empty as possible. At this time, the sun will be beginning to set and so the lighting will already be slightly darker, which is ideal. Alternatively, we may film from 2-4 pm on a Thursday afternoon as school will still be in progress so there will therefore be less people around.

· Equipment required is: two cameras (one is extra for in case the first camera’s battery dies), memory card, tripod, shoulder mount rig or the camera, the fleccie, the lights, the audio equipment (the microphone, boom pole, audio (XLR) cables, headphones).

·  We would ideally like the park to be empty. This is for two reasons. Firstly, because it will create
that eerie and lonely atmosphere, emphasising the child’s vulnerability, and secondly,
more practically, because we do not want to catch the faces of other locals and their
children on camera. One possible problem is the park not being empty. We will have to be somewhat flexible with our camera angles on the day to eliminate filming others not involved as far as possible. One way in which we are counteracting this problem is by filming form 5-7 pm, hopefully a time that is not too busy. Alternatively, we may film from 2-4 pm on a Thursday afternoon as school will still be in progress so there will therefore be less people around.



Treatment (I have emailed this to you so that it has the pictures included as well):

A TREATMENT FOR

SWEETNESS

GCH Productions – Grace Watson’s Treatment

22/04/2020

It is proposed that the film will be roughly three minutes in duration, and that it will be filmed at J.F. Kennedy Park in Castor Bay because there is a playground for the small child to be located, a public bathroom for the mother to be located and in between the two, a parking lot for the man’s van. The park fits perfectly our plot of having a child kidnapped/abducted, as parks are almost symbols of children – places where children play often.

This film will include the following conventions of thriller films:

o   Symbolism/iconography – the little girl’s clothing will be bright and warm – relating to her innocence and joy. 

o   The man’s clothing will be dark, dirty, dingy and old – relating to his evilness and the disgusting act he is about to carry out.

o   Irony – will be filming in a park (setting) where there should be many children, running around in pure joy and excitement, however, instead, in this park there are hardly any children, it is gloomy and eerie. This irony causes the viewer to feel uncomfortable and worry for the child.

o   Having a dangerous and questionable man near such small children will evoke fear in the viewer.

o   Sound – the scene will begin with a slow tempo and soft, hollow-sounding, non-diegetic music. This will emphasise the eeriness. The soft music will slowly build up as the tension rises, and it will then drop into complete, deafening silence as the car drives away. The sudden silence will put an end to the building suspense with a loud (yet silent) ‘bang’!

o   Lighting - quite eerie, cold and drained - this will spark irony as a park should be child-friendly - bright, happy and safe. It's as if it is being miss-used.

o   Shadows – when filming the man, three-point lighting will be used to create shadows over certain parts of his face. Just as parts of his face will be concealed, he is trying to conceal his character and actions of abducting children by seeming sweet to luir the child toward his car, grabbing the child and driving away before any other problems arose.

o   Narrative – the narrative itself builds excitement and suspense as the viewer follows the man along his journey to abducting the little girl, captivating them.

o   the camera’s perspective will jump between subjective and objective which also increases suspense and evokes tension, as said by Spielberg.

o   When filming from the man’s perspective, a canted, disorientated angle will highlight his untrustworthy character.

o   The door creaking (sound effect added in editing) as the mother opens the door – the creaking evokes worry within the viewer.

o   Perhaps the man will have a knife evident in his pocket. The knife resembling danger and death.

After watching the following thriller films/thriller opening sequences [Jaws, The Talented Mr. Ripley, John Wick, Atomic Blonde and Heat], I have been influenced by:

·      In Heat:

-       the camera cuts from revealing the front of the train nearing toward the camera, and then in the next shot it is positioned behind the train as it carries on going ahead. I’d like to try out this technique with the van as the man drives it out of the car park as it adds an interesting dynamic to the sequence.

-       I also enjoyed the opening title of ‘HEAT’ which looked almost as though it had been handwritten. Since the little girl, Amberly, is still small, my opening title will look as though it has been handwritten by a small child; slightly messy and squiggly – instantly introducing that uncomfortable, disorientated feel.

-       In Heat, one could hear the diegetic sound of the train – I plan to do so with the sound of the van as it starts as well, creating depth.

·      In Jaws:

-       I enjoyed how the sound began very soft, then slowly improved in volume, and then became close to silent once again when the two characters ran off toward the ocean. I plan to play around with the sound levels in my product – beginning the film with slow tempo and soft, hollow-sounding, non-diegetic music, which will emphasise the eeriness. The soft music will slowly build up as the tension rises, and it will then drop into complete, deafening silence as the car drives away. Just before the sudden silence will be the ‘climax’ of the suspense, and the music’s sudden stop will put an end to the building suspense with a loud (yet silent) ‘bang’ to silence!

·      In John Wick:

-       The scene begins with a man driving a car, the radio on, and there is a contrast between what is shown on screen and what is heard on the radio. The lighting on screen is dark, cold and hostile with hues of greens and blues, yet the radio speaks of enjoying the sun the following day. This contrast sparks irony and question within the viewer.

The second shot of my clip is taken from within the van – in this case, the radio will be heard, and it will be speaking of bright summers days and joyfulness. The contrast between what the radio is speaking about and what is about to happen (which the viewer will feel by the atmosphere created will be scary) will cause discomfort within the viewer.

-       The opening of John Wick ends with an establishing wide shot – I plan to end my sequence with the same type of shot, revealing the car as it drives off and the public bathroom where Amberly’s mother is located. Ending the sequence the same way as it began.

·      In Atomic Blonde:

-       There are cuts between the filming of a speech and then the credits on plain black backgrounds. This technique builds up suspense as what is shown on camera is interrupted by the black pages of titles – this is something I will consider doing in post-production. This will create a sense of an enigma.

·      In The Talented Mr. Ripley:

-       There is a sense of mystery/enigma which, as mentioned above, I plan to look at doing as well.

Problems encountered were include:

·      firstly, a safety issue may arise with regards to driving the van – we must ensure that the driver of the car concentrates on driving properly when he drives away in our closing, and must not forget about road safety by concentrating on his acting role in that moment. Road safety is most important.

·      One possible problem is the park not being empty. We would like it to be as empty as possible for two reasons.

-       Firstly, because it will create an eerie and lonely atmosphere, emphasising the child’s vulnerability.

-       Secondly, and more practically, because we do not want to catch the faces of other locals and their children on camera – this is an invasion of their privacy if not done on permission.

-       Therefore we will have to be somewhat flexible with our camera angles filming on the day t eliminate filming others not involved as far as possible.

-       One way in which we will counteract this problem is by filming from 5-7pm - hopefully, the park won’t be too busy at this time because its dinner time.

-       Alternatively, we may film from 2-4 pm on a Thursday afternoon as school will still be I progress at this time, meaning that there will most probably be fewer people at the park. [one problem here is finding a lift to the park during school time].

The film will include the following:

Characters:

·      The little girl's name will be 'Amberly'. She is patiently waiting for her mother who has quickly gone to the restroom.

·      The meaning of her name is a “Jewel-quality Fossilized Resin; As a Color the Name Refers to a Warm Honey Shade", according to Google.

·      This little girl will resemble warmth and safety - the meaning of her name refers to the 'warm' honey shade, and she will be wearing warm colours - a beautiful, warm and fuzzy, red or orange cardigan, blue jeans and white sneakers. Her hair-ties will also be bright and vibrant.

·      Her eyes will be bright and she will carry a freedom and joy, and will be neat and clean, bright and smiling (supports stereotype of children being care-free).

·      Her hairstyle will be two pigtails - a typical childhood hairstyle, emphasising her still being a young child, innocent and trusting. [My mom is really talented in this department and so will do her hair before we start filming].

·      She will almost look mis-placed in this dark and gloomy park.

 

In contrast,

·      the man will be wearing clothing of cold colouring - greens, blues, and perhaps even faded magenta. - more specifically, he will be wearing an old, dirty (to resemble his dirty, dangerous background) jumper, and faded blue jeans that have lost their colour.

·      His shoes will be sandals. His dirtiness will match the gloomy eeriness of the park and the action he is about to carry out.

·      He is a kidnapper and plans to abduct Amberly.

All of the above will cause Amberly to stick out, highlighting right from the beginning her vulnerability in the dark place.

Ideology:

The girl is bright and smiling this supports the stereotype of children being care-free.

She is young, vulnerable and 'weak'… she will scream, cry and yell when chased after and caught. This supports the typical stereotype of girls being emotional. In contrast, the man will be unphased, brutal, scary, stern, unafraid and powerful. This also supports the typical stereotype of men being the less vulnerable, more superior characters.

The man will also be a strange character, pale face, blue rings under his eyes, and a falseness in his voice.

The main message of the film is to never leave your child unattended, and to never “take talk to” or “take a sweet from” a stranger, NO MATTER HOW FRIEDNLY THEY MAY SEEM. This, of course, is something the parents/adults who watch the clip will have to educate them on as the film is not for the eyes of those under sixteen years old.

Mood and tone:

The mood and tone of my clip will be eerie and suspenseful. As the viewers watch the clip, they will feel uncomfortable and slightly worried. This atmosphere will be created by the eerie and hollow-sounding music which, paired with the drained and cold lighting of hues of blue and green, will evoke worry and discomfort in the viewer. It will also be created by the strangeness of the male character; his pale face, blue rings under his eyes, and the falseness in his voice.

can use makeup to paint a large bruise on her forehead/cheek, as if she has been hit/hurt.

Camera and Lighting:

 The camera’s perspective will jump between subjective and objective which increases suspense and evokes tension, as said by Spielberg. When filming from the man’s perspective, a canted, disorientated angle will highlight his untrustworthy character, building up a sense of questioning.

The opening shot will be an establishing shot, revealing a white van parked in a parking lot, facing a children’s park. The second shot will be a POV shot from the man sitting in the van, looking towards the park at the children, scanning (pan shot).

A close-up shot will be used later on to reveal the little girl’s worry, and a low-angle shot looking up at the man to reveal his superiority and her vulnerability.

An extreme close-up of the man’s face as he carries her will reveal his determination and awful character - pale face, blue rings under his eyes, really strange man.

Once they have driven away, a wide-shot will reveal the mother leaving the bathroom and gently calling "Amberlyyy, where are you hiding?” in a warm, kind voice; a relief from the strangeness of and discomfort caused by the man.

The clip’s lighting will appear drained and cold, dark and gloomy. This will spark irony as a park should be child-friendly - bright, happy and safe. It's as if it is being miss-used.

·   

  We will make use of three-point lighting to form shadows across parts of the man’s face – relating to his shady character. Just as parts of his face will be concealed, he is trying to conceal his character and actions of abducting the child by seeming kind, in effort of luiring the child toward his car, then grabbing her and driving away before any other problems arise.

Lighting between the 'cool white' and the 'day light'.

Themes and motifs:

Evident in my clip will be the themes of vulnerability – the little girl is in a vulnerable position, superiority – the man is taller, larger and superior, the theme of separation – the child is being separated and taken away from her mother. There is the constant reference to a sweet – a theme in some way. The word ‘sweet’ also means to be kind, gentle, caring. In this film, it is because of the sweet that the little girl was kidnapped – had she not accepted it in the first place, perhaps things would have ended differently.

Narrative:

  The narrative itself builds excitement and suspense as the viewer follows the man along his journey to abducting the little girl, captivating them.

Mise-en-scene/setting:

The setting of our clip will be J.F. Kennedy Park, between Castor Bay and Milford. This is because there is a playground for the small child, a public toilet opposite it where the child’s mother is located, and a carpark in-between where the van can be stationed. There will be plenty of space for the chase-sequence in this location.

 

The park should be child-friendly, bright, happy and safe place. It's as if it is being miss-used. Having a dangerous man near such small children will evoke fear in the viewer.

Symbolism:

The little girl, Amberly, symbolises warmth and freedom in both her name which refers to a “warm honey shade” in meaning, and in her clothing and her hair-ties will be of bright colours which symbolise freedom and joy.

Her hairstyle will be two pigtails - a typical childhood hairstyle, emphasising her still being a young child, innocent and trusting. Once kidnapped, her previously neat hair becomes messy, symbolising how she has been treated with harshness.

The man will be wearing clothing of cold colouring - greens, blues, and perhaps even faded magenta. He will be wearing an old, dirty (to resemble his dirty, dangerous background) jumper, and faded blue jeans that have lost their colour. His shoes will be sandals. His dirtiness will symbolises his dark character.

Sound and music:

The scene will begin with a slow tempo and soft, hollow-sounding, non-diegetic music. This will emphasise the eeriness. The soft music will slowly build up as the tension rises, and it will then drop into complete, deafening silence as the car drives away. The sudden silence will put an end to the building suspense with a loud (yet silent) ‘bang’!

A sound effect of the van door opening (diegetic) will be added in post-production, as well as the sound effect of the van’s engine as it drives away.

Credits and logos:

The credits will fade from black, and both the credits and the main title will look as though they have been handwritten, messy and squiggly. This will instantly introduce the sense of disorientation right from the beginning.

The logo of our production company, GCH Productions, will appear first, followed by the beginning of the clip. Whilst the clip begins playing, the opening credits will appear on the screen. At the end of the opening sequence (although still the beginning of the film to come), the name of my film; “Sweetness”.

Editing:

Fade from black transitions at the beginning and a fade into black at the end will be used, as well as fades between each shot in the clip. This slow fade will mimic the eerie atmosphere of the film.

A summary of the opening to my film:

A large, tall man will step out of his van and walk toward a young, small girl who he then offers a 'sweet'. He invites her to walk with him to his car where the sweet is. She happily goes along with him. Soon after handing her the sweet (which is the object that is 'given'), he then invites her to get into his car. She has a 'discovery' or 'revelation' moment, and remembers how one should never take a sweet from or get into a car with a stranger, and so therefore she realises that perhaps this man is a danger to be around. This will be symbolised by her looking up at him worriedly, politely saying, "Um, no... thank, ... you... no.. thanks," and dropping the sweet on the ground as she turns around and begins running away at a high speed (a bit of a stutter - sound revealing her nervousness). This will then progress into a chase scene in which he will dash after her, trying to grab her. This chase-sequence will be followed by him managing to catch up to her and pick her up, with her hitting her head against his on accident, hurting herself which will cause her to stop resisting and start holding that spot and crying in pain. He will carry her, at pace, to his car, shove her inside, hand her a dirty teddy-bear from behind the car seat, and then drive off, the little girl screaming.

Once they have driven away, a wide-shot will reveal the mother leaving the bathroom and gently calling "Amberlyyy, where are you hiding?” in a warm, kind voice; a relief from the strangeness of and discomfort caused by the man.

The main conflict/tension in the sequence:

will be the chase scene and grabbing of the little girl, placing her in the van and driving off.

The instant suspense, worry and discomfort built up in this opening sequence will be the springboard for the rest of the film which will continue the eerie, strange and sadness as it follows the story of this little girl who has been kidnapped and the search her mother goes on to find her.