Test Shot / Photo Shoot

Auditions

The video above shows the auditions that we had organised in order for us to find a suitable actor and actress, that will play the part in our teaser trailer. We had luckily come across many willing, and talented individuals who held great passion for acting, thus increasing the professionalism for the final teaser trailer, which will, in turn, allow our work to flow smoothly. Through this video, we have presented just a few of the auditions that were carried out by us, where in which we had told those individuals to follow a set of different dramatic facial expressions and sounds that we would normally find in a horror movie. We had asked them to show us their best: scared face, screaming, and also screaming 'NO' . Since our horror teaser trailer wouldn't have any dialogue being used, our main focus would be the use of facial expression and body langue, mirroring the characters emotions hence, why we had chosen to pick these actions for them to perform.

Noreen and Jade were the two judges, whereby they observed and judged each person based on their acting skill and willingness to film for our media coursework. Regrettably, there were some individuals that didn't meet our expectations and we found that they seemed not to the take the auditions too seriously this, therefore, reflected the possibilities of any potential problems that may arise. On the other hand, we did succeed in finding some certain people who had shown great performances and seemed very confident in taking on the role that we had pre-planned. They managed to grasp the idea of the expectations of a horror movie and performed each given task well, an example would be the second candidate for our auditions, where we feel she showed an exceptional amount of talent for acting in our project. However, we have found many complications when figuring out our filming schedule since we had to take into consideration when, and how long, they are able to film with us. Due to this, we found that many of our candidates weren't able to film after school and weren't able to adjust the time they had. This therefore lead to our group to come down to  conclusion of the ways in which we where able to film our work, and found that it was most effective to use ourselves in our trailer. This had many benefits as we were able to organise and work flexibly around the time that we had, and since we knew exactly what we required in each shot, this made filming run a lot more smooth. However, looking at our second candidate, her performance had struck us most forcibly and because of this, we feel that she might be able to help us for any sound effects that we plan to use, making our work more original and we aren't at any risk of being accused of plagiarism or getting involved in any copyright issues.

Alterations

Alteration 1

Jade (Veronica) - We've decided to remove the skirt and high heels in height from the character and to change them to trousers to "wedges" (heeled shoes inside the shoes but has a flat base). She found it difficult to run with the skirt and the high heels which can be a problem during production as well as a health and safety risk because she can potentially fall and injure herself. If this was to happen, we cannot further progress until she fully recovers,  leading to the production stage and the overall production process being delayed. The trousers and the "wedges" will reduce these risks and will considerably reduce the chances of injury and delays to the process but will also ensure actors are not discomforted by their costumes.

Alteration 2

Michael (Damien) - We've decided that the actor will no longer have a cane to hold, this gives the actor the ability to be more flexible around the set during filming without the cane being a burden towards him. For example, during one of the shots, we required Michael to hold a torch, however, with a cane by his side, this became impossible, therefore to increase overall flexibility of this character, we had taken the cane out from all of the shots he was included in. The actor will also be wearing face paint of the grim reaper rather than a mask. We've felt as a group that face paint will be more realistic especially when face paint can wear off, this makes it seem as if the characters Halloween's costume is lifelike.

Alteration 3

Storyboard - Shots 6, 7 and 8 will no longer involve smashed pieces of glass. We felt as a group that we would not want to smash glass as this is a health and safety risk. Instead of smashing glass, we decided to place cushioning on the floor so that the glass can fall onto this without breaking or causing damage/injury to anyone or anything. Overall, we believe not smashing glass is safer but less risk inducing.

Alteration 4

Another alteration that we made was to change the filming room for shots 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ,7 ,8 which consist of the main characters of narrative discovering a dark secret of the school they are in. Initially, we were going to use our school's official reception desk, however, lighting within this area was too bright, therefore it wouldn't look like an authentic horror film. Also, during filming, we experienced repeated delays due to people being near and walking by the receptionist desk, this area is one of the main areas of our school, this made it harder to film consistently, quickly and efficiently. After experiencing such difficulty, we changed our filming room to one of the drama department rooms within the school which was in a completely different area. This room had several controllable lights which would help us set a sinistrous atmosphere with dim lighting, however, the room was also secluded which means we would be able to film without any distractions or delays.

Old Filming Location

New Filming Location

Alteration 5

Alteration 5 is importantly another change to the rooms or areas we will use to film. For instance, for shots 11 & 18, instead of using hall-room doors,we decided to change this filming location to a classroom that is centered at the top of our school building. Our group agreed to do this because the hall-room doors were in an area that was too bright for our horror teaser trailer, therefore having open lighting would not make our trailer look authentic and reflective of a horror film. Also, our teaser trailer conventionally uses dim and very dark lighting for dramatic effect, having bright lights would therefore juxtapose this. The room we had switched to had the advantage of pitch black lighting and windows that we could use to show characters being locked in the school, which is apart of our narrative. 

Old Filming Location

New Filming Location

Alteration 6

Alteration 6 consists of many significant changes to our films storyboard and shooting schedule. Firstly, shot 5 of the storyboard will be different. For instance, instead of having a character bump into the school rules frame, we decided to use a string to make the frame fall by itself, we thought this seemed more supernatural which would suit our horror teaser trailer. Consequently , this also influenced the change of shot 8 and 9 on the storyboard also. For instance, shot 8 of the storyboard will consist of all three of the main characters reacting to the frame falling by itself, this creates the impression that their is a ghost amongst the narrative of our trailer, which is an impression we hope to express to the audience. Furthermore, shot 9 will consist of the main three characters looking at the frame that has just fallen, our group felt this was more realistic as the three main characters would be reacting to a supernatural presence, which will create fair and panic within the audience. This was far more authentic than someone accidentally dropping the frame. Shot 5 would still use a medium shot to show the frame falling , shot 8 would also use a medium shot to portray the characters reaction to the frame falling and shot 9 would be an over the shoulder shot of the characters holding the frame. Altogether, we are still using the same initial types of shot, therefore we have not implemented any shots that completely new.

Alteration 7

Alteration 7 is a change to the appearance of our character named Damien who is played by Michael. Although we have mentioned that Michael will be wearing face paint, on our third day of filming, we had decided not to include a face painted character. For instance, as we were filming on different days, face painting a character each time would have different outcomes as face paint is not going to look the same each time it is put on a character, this furthermore will affect the continuity of our teaser trailer as we won't be able to replicate the same face paint each time.

Alteration 8

Alteration 8 consists of changes to the storyboard which came about during the 4th day of filming. The 16th shot of our storyboard is currently a scene where a chair moves by itself next to the three main characters therefore indicating a supernatural presence. However, this shot was meant to be projected in the format of CCTV to make it look more realistic. However, we changed this shot to a close up shot of a ghost that is screaming towards the camera. We decided to do this because replicating a realistic CCTV simulation was too difficult. Also, it would be hard to have a chair moving by itself as a piece of string would be visible in the lighting of our camera. Secondly, we had also decided to change shot number 20 which currently shows three characters being scared of a nearby shadow. We decided to change this to a shot of an object moving behind one of our main characters which furthermore adds the element of surprise whilst indicating the presence of an evil entity. Our group figured replicating a clear and sinister shadow was too difficult, we had tried to do this multiple times but the shots didn't look worthy of being included within our teaser trailer which is why we switched this shot. Thirdly, we had also changed shot 26. For example, this shot was a scene where all characters were running, however, while filming, these shots didn't suit our teaser trailer therefore they were out of place. To replace this shot, we decided to take many different shots of dissimilar but eerie scenarios so that we would be able to choose one during editing. From doing this, we would be able to have different options to replace shot 26, therefore we could see which shots are most suitable for our specific trailer and we would decide this through a group vote. Some of the shots we taken to replace shot 26 includes shadows of our ghost(Villain/Supernatural Entity) and our main three characters walking with flashlights.

Film Log - Day 4

Our 4th day of filming was our last day of official filming. It had gone smoothly as we had efficiently taken all of the remaining shots on our storyboard and shooting script. On this day we had used mostly dark rooms and lighting to portray characters and settings in a sinister way. On our last day, our group members had worked closely together to ensure the last few shots were taken to a sufficient standard. On this day, we had also made some alterations to our storyboard which includes switching some of the shots in our storyboard with other more suitable shots that would be more effective for our teaser trailer. We had also used two actors to be the ghosts of our trailer, this included putting makeup on them to ensure they look terrifying enough to be included in the shots. We had used our own flashlights to create lighting for the shots, this was not only innovative but provided us with cinematic lighting that would help us express horror. For the ghosts of our trailer, we had used two new actors that were friends, they helped us greatly to ensure these shots were good enough as they would follow our directing. Overall, on the last day of filming, every shot from our shooting script and storyboard had been completed which is important as it enabled our group to start focusing on editing for the final. We will review all of the shots we have taken and come to any shots that may come across as a problem. This particular day of filming had been enjoying as our group had also come across several bloopers that we could later use for a blooper compilation.

Behind The Scenes

Film Log - Day 3

So far, i believe our third day of filming had been the most productive. For instance, we had wasted no time, we eventually got at least 9-12 shots of our storyboard and shooting script done. This is a significant number of shots to do in one day, considering we have a total of thirty shots. As usual, we worked efficiently as a unit to complete most of these shots, each group member filmed shots, acted and even directed which indicates how multi skilled my teammates really are. Also, we had also made an alteration which was to scrap the idea of Michael(Damien) wearing face paint to reduce inconsistencies and ensure continuity. What was different about our third day of filming as that all the shots were filmed in pitch black areas, therefore we had to use personal flashlights to ensure actors can be seen. On this particular day, we didn't have any major issues however we did have to redo some shots a couple of times so that they were perfected for the camera. Overall, another enjoyable evening with my group that was extremely important as this day of filming would contribute to us completing the production stage of our teaser trailer. As a predication, i think we may need one more day of filming in order to get our whole shooting script finished.I also anticpiate many future alterations to shots and props we may decide to use.

Behind The Scenes

Film Log - Day 2

The second day of filming had gone much more smoother and efficient than the first day. For instance, as mentioned within film log day 1, we had many issues with time management. However, while filming the second time around, we had gotten many shots on our storyboard and shooting script completed. On this day, we had also many several alterations to our project which is covered on a separate page, this was useful as we all agreed on what we should change and why, therefore making necessary and constructive alterations would help to improve our teaser trailer as a whole. I believe we worked well in a team as all group members contributed to our day of filming whether that be in the form of acting, costume designing, directing or even producing. All group members had attended our film session, therefore we were organised and ready to film. All of our equipment, props and costumes were also readily available, this therefore ensured there were no delays to filming as our group had everything that we needed. The shots that we took were excellent and further perfected to ensure they were at the highest standards and qualities. Aside from filming, i really enjoyed working with my team more closely, for instance, this enabled me to gain some of their insights on how i should film certain shots, this furthermore improved my cinematography skills which is important as i take the role of the cameraman. I think the most difficult part of filming was filming in pitch black dark. For instance, although we had flash lights, we would have to position these lights correctly to ensure their were no reflections on characters or props. Filming in the dark was hard, however, with several flash lights and good camera composition, our shots were still clear and visible on screen. Overall, our second day was very productive and significant to the production stage of our teaser trailer project.

Behind The Scenes

Film Log - Day 1

On the first day of filming, we shot several scenes that were both inside and outside. As the groups cameraman, the shots were taken at a very good level with the use of a tripod within some shots. I believe i worked well with my group to make many of the shots work. For example, one of the shots within our storyboard include lights flashing within a room. In order to film this scene, i directed one of my group members to constantly flick the lights on and off while i film, this is just one example of how i had to work closely with my group in order to ensure filming is done efficiently. Although i take the role of the only cameraman within our group, filming our teaser trailer was not a solo effort. While filming, i had my group members with me, therefore they constantly gave me new ideas of how to film and what shots i could use in order to make scenes look more interest and cinematic. All of my group members had also shot some of the scenes themselves, this was also helpful as this would provide me with an incite or view on how group members want certain shots to be filmed, furthermore adding variety to the number of shots we used. This would give us more flexibility when editing as we would have a range of different shots we could use for our scenes. In terms of group members, we were all very organised. For example, we all had different equipment that we needed to bring in which was significantly important as certain shots would not be possible without them. However, not one group member had forgotten to bring their costumes , props or anything they were responsible for bringing.

In contrast, we also had some issues with filming. For instance, our time management was quite poor. For instance, we took too long filming some shots which lead to us overlooking other important shots that we were suppose to film. However, from acknowledging this, we now know to ensure our time management is efficient so that we can film as smoothly as possible while getting a days worth of filming done. Overall, the first day of filming was very productive and enjoyable but also very constructive as we know what to focus on , the next time we film as we will be more prepared. Down below you will some pictures taken from our first day of filming.

Behind the scenes

Group Meeting

During production process of our teaser trailer, we decided to conduct a filmed group meeting that would establish many important aspects of our production. This included ensuring every group member has access to filming videos through a group Dropbox account, this significantly increased convenience and the amount of productive work. For instance, if a group member was absent, they would still have access to group work, therefore they would be able to carry on with any assignments and tasks without difficult of access. Furthermore, all group members decided that we should create individual film logs to keep track of our production process but also to note down our experiences during live filming. This would be useful as we would be able to look back on certain days of filming which would aid with our ability to track our progress. Also, as a group, we had made many changes to our storyboard and narrative, therefore we decided to keep an alterations documents that would show all of the changes we made. This would help us keep track of all the aspects of our teaser trailer that we changed which is important to establish as we would have to ensure changes are noted down for future use. The video down below shows me and my group discussing these topics.