Friday, 29 January 2010
Meeting about film and practice (25/1/10)
After school finished on Monday, everyone who agreed to be involved in filming stayed behind, so we could discuss costumes, filming locations and practice dance moves. After we talked about the costumes and agreed everyone had the right outfits for filming, we discussed locations and days to film. We agreed that because of the way the room is set out, with enough space for a dance and a small bed against the wall, my sister's bedroom would be a good place to film. There is also a small lamp, that would provide the right kind of lighting for the film, and a blind we could use to let in or shut out the light from outside. We then practiced some dance moves, for the different songs. The song we managed to finish creating and learning the dance for was 'Madhouse'. This was fairly easy to create, as I am only using the first 30 seconds of the song for the film. For 'Disturbia', we talked over some moves and managed to work out what kind of moves we wanted to use for the chorus. We decided to finish talking then, and arranged to meet on Saturday to finish practising the 'Disturbia' dance and arrange a day to film. I'm hoping to film either on Sunday or sometime next week, so I can start working on my editing and get the audience feedback questionnaire and my evaluations done before half term.
Monday, 25 January 2010
Target audience
Because I am making a horror film opening with dancing, my target audience would most likely be teenagers and adults above the age of 12.
I wanted to use the horror genre for my main task from the beginning. Because of this, I wasn't interested in researching what kind of film openings younger audiences would enjoy or how they would react to certain films. I focused on films for audiences aged 15 and over, especially horror films. All 4 film openings that I deconstructed and the films I took inspiration from for my film opening ideas are all rated for audiences over 12 years old.
When I sent out my questionnaire using facebook, the main ages of the people interested in watching horror films were 16-19.
One of the most chosen answers for 'What would make a good opening?' was 'Something I won't understand until the end of the film.' This could mean that most people who pay attention to movie openings and who would be interested in this kind of movie, like to be kept guessing after the opening scene. They don't like the whole film to be given away at the start, they prefer to be surprised or shocked. I chose my opening to be quite mysterious based on this, because you aren't sure why the creatures are dancing or why they're even there.
I don't think the film opening would be suitable for younger children as they don't like to be scared and they might not understand the Zombies, which could make them more afraid.
However, when I have finished filming, as part of my audience feedback questionnaire, I will show a small part of the film to an audience of different ages, including my younger sister, who is ten years old. I will ask her for her reaction to the movie and whether or not it slightly scared her or if she enjoyed watching it. I will also show it to some of my friends, aged 16/17 and to my mum and step dad, to gain different views and opinions and research on how suitable the film opening is for my intended target audience.
I wanted to use the horror genre for my main task from the beginning. Because of this, I wasn't interested in researching what kind of film openings younger audiences would enjoy or how they would react to certain films. I focused on films for audiences aged 15 and over, especially horror films. All 4 film openings that I deconstructed and the films I took inspiration from for my film opening ideas are all rated for audiences over 12 years old.
When I sent out my questionnaire using facebook, the main ages of the people interested in watching horror films were 16-19.
One of the most chosen answers for 'What would make a good opening?' was 'Something I won't understand until the end of the film.' This could mean that most people who pay attention to movie openings and who would be interested in this kind of movie, like to be kept guessing after the opening scene. They don't like the whole film to be given away at the start, they prefer to be surprised or shocked. I chose my opening to be quite mysterious based on this, because you aren't sure why the creatures are dancing or why they're even there.
I don't think the film opening would be suitable for younger children as they don't like to be scared and they might not understand the Zombies, which could make them more afraid.
However, when I have finished filming, as part of my audience feedback questionnaire, I will show a small part of the film to an audience of different ages, including my younger sister, who is ten years old. I will ask her for her reaction to the movie and whether or not it slightly scared her or if she enjoyed watching it. I will also show it to some of my friends, aged 16/17 and to my mum and step dad, to gain different views and opinions and research on how suitable the film opening is for my intended target audience.
Audience feedback Questionnaire: Results and Screenshot
I showed part of my film opening to friends and family and asked them to fill out a questionnaire based on what they saw. These are my results:
1. Did you enjoy the film?Everyone who filled out my questionnaire said that they enjoyed watching my film opening. This is a good response because I was hoping for a type of horror that most people would enjoy watching, as now, most horror films are only aimed at certain people, so a lot of people don't go to watch or enjoy them.
2. If no, why not? Please state:
Everybody who filled out the questionnaire enjoyed watching the opening of my film.
3. If yes, why? Please state:The reason most people enjoyed the film was because of the actors and acting in it. Actors are there to make the film real and to show what is happening, but they are also meant to make the movie entertaining, by performing well in a character role. I think that the acting could have gone better, but it was very entertaining to watch and I think the reason most people enjoyed watching the actors was because we all enjoyed acting and filming as well.
4. Do you think it fits the genre (horror/dance)?Everybody agreed that my idea and film opening, fit the genre I had decided to use. My film opening contains a dance sequence and Zombie creatures, which are both examples of characteristics in horror and dance genres.
5. Why/ why not? Please state:Most people thought that the dance in the film was the most important thing that portrayed what the genre was. The dance is definitely a characteristic of the dance genre, but if the dancers hadn't been dressed like Zombies and we had used different music, I think the dance wouldn't have been a very good example of the horror genre.
6. If this was used for a sneak preview/ trailer for a real film, would you consider going to watch it?More than half the people who filled out my questionnaire said they would go and watch it if it was a real film. This shows that my idea and the trailer and film would be successful if broad casted. It also shows the idea and genre is quite popular with people today.
7. Why/ why not? Please state:The two most popular answers were: I would see it but I'm not fond of the genre and I would see it because it looks interesting and different. This shows that there are mixed impressions to films and that even if people like the look of a film but aren't fond of the genre, If they trailer looks good enough and the film has good reviews, most people will still want to watch it.
8. What did you like the most about it? Please State:Most people liked the music used in my film opening. I think the music was very creepy and appropriate to the film. It was also easy to create a dance for and very original, as instead of using a typical horror genre song like 'Thriller' or 'The Time Warp', I decided to use two of Rihannas songs 'Madhouse' and 'Disturbia' which were just as creepy and effective in the film.
9. What could be improved? Please state:The dance was the thing that most people thought could be improved. I think the dance was quite original and easy to perform, but it wasn't very good at portraying the horror genre. The first half of the dance to 'Madhouse' was a very good representation of the horror genre, as we used the two Zombies at the sides as Puppets, controlled by the Zombie in the middle. This is very typical of horror films, to have characters being controlled or possessed by evil creatures or demons. The second half with the song 'Disturbia' could have been made to suit the horror genre, but we wanted to keep everything simple so we didn't forget any moves or get anything wrong when it came to filming. A complicated dance routine would have also taken longer to film and work on, when the simple dance routine we did was good for the opening and followed the beat of the music.
Planning
I chose the location and costumes based on the genre I am using. Because it is meant to be a horror/dance opening I wanted the Zombies to wear dark clothes with their faces hidden by white masks. I used a bedroom for the location as the plot involves someone having a nightmare, only for the audience to see that its real.
I organised help from my friends by emailing them using facebook and arranging and planning practises and when to film.
I made the technical decisions also based on genre, deciding to use a nighttime setting with a small lamp to give off little light, using the ideas that a lot of people are afraid of the dark and that nightmares happen when people are asleep. The room couldn't be completely dark, so the lamp will give out enough light so the audience can see whats going on, without ruining the effect that the scene is happening late at night.
I thought of the script, storyboard and questionnaire quickly after I had all my ideas planned out. I only had to make a few changes, changing the tag line from "If you dance... YOU DIE!" to "It's all in your head..." I decided to use this for the tag line based on a scene from Stephen King's IT, where the clown, Pennywise, possesses an old man to scare away Eddie Kasprak (one of the main characters). After watching the film back without the tagline, however, I decided to leave it out because I thought it looked creepier if just the title was showing. I had to change some of the people who were involved after some people didn't want to act in the film. I also changed some of the actors and people who were helping around, because it was easier for Laura and Sabrina to film and do music and they didn't want to act in the film, whereas my younger sister, Victoria, did. I changed some of the lyrics to 'Disturbia' adding more in, to make the dance better. I also changed the ending sequence as on the day of filming, we all decided on a better idea, where the Zombies are hiding at the end of the bad, jump out and say "It wasn't!" After editing the film again, I changed the title to appear straight after the dance and put the scream scene at the end of the film. I changed the script and storyboard to match. These were easy changes to make and didn't affect any other ideas or plans.
I used a lot of ICT to help plan and create the ideas for filming. I used YouTube and Google to find videos and pictures to use in my blog and I have used PowerPoint to also keep a record of all my work. I used word and paint to create the script, storyboard and questionnaire.
I organised help from my friends by emailing them using facebook and arranging and planning practises and when to film.
I made the technical decisions also based on genre, deciding to use a nighttime setting with a small lamp to give off little light, using the ideas that a lot of people are afraid of the dark and that nightmares happen when people are asleep. The room couldn't be completely dark, so the lamp will give out enough light so the audience can see whats going on, without ruining the effect that the scene is happening late at night.
I thought of the script, storyboard and questionnaire quickly after I had all my ideas planned out. I only had to make a few changes, changing the tag line from "If you dance... YOU DIE!" to "It's all in your head..." I decided to use this for the tag line based on a scene from Stephen King's IT, where the clown, Pennywise, possesses an old man to scare away Eddie Kasprak (one of the main characters). After watching the film back without the tagline, however, I decided to leave it out because I thought it looked creepier if just the title was showing. I had to change some of the people who were involved after some people didn't want to act in the film. I also changed some of the actors and people who were helping around, because it was easier for Laura and Sabrina to film and do music and they didn't want to act in the film, whereas my younger sister, Victoria, did. I changed some of the lyrics to 'Disturbia' adding more in, to make the dance better. I also changed the ending sequence as on the day of filming, we all decided on a better idea, where the Zombies are hiding at the end of the bad, jump out and say "It wasn't!" After editing the film again, I changed the title to appear straight after the dance and put the scream scene at the end of the film. I changed the script and storyboard to match. These were easy changes to make and didn't affect any other ideas or plans.
I used a lot of ICT to help plan and create the ideas for filming. I used YouTube and Google to find videos and pictures to use in my blog and I have used PowerPoint to also keep a record of all my work. I used word and paint to create the script, storyboard and questionnaire.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Filming
I am filming next week, starting on Monday 18th. On Saturday 16th, I will be practising and arranging the dance for the film, and I will be looking for white masks for the dancers to wear. I need to arrange days and times for filming, as the location is in my house. I also need to make sure everyone has the right costumes and that I can hear the music on the camera. If not, I'll have to add the music after filming.
Friday, 8 January 2010
Plan of images
The main storyline is someone having a bad dream and then waking up, but the audience will realise its not a dream. The filming will take place in a bedroom, with music that the Zombies in the sleeping persons dream are dancing to. I have decided that Rebekah Woodcock will be the sleeping character and I will start filming the first scene. When the creatures jump in to dance, I will join them and Teri Peppercorn will take over filming. The Zombies dancing are : Georgina Jupp, Laura Robinett, Emily Hunt, Sabrina Pacey and me. To shoot the sleeping scene and the dance scene, the filming will be shot looking straight at the scene. When the sleeper wakes up and the creatures peer round from behind the door frame, the filming will take place from behind the door.
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