Friday, March 27, 2020

Genre research

Moodboard

This genre research will influence the production of our short film as it has given us ideas about how we can film the short film, such as identifying the types of shots, lighting and cinematography we can use.

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Proposal for Short Film

Outline of concept/plot
The short film starts with four teenage girls who are best friends - the protagonists. One of the girls suggests that they should play the Ouija board after school as she has heard that there is a ghost in the school. They all agree to do it and go to a dark room in the school where they begin to play the ouija board. They ask it questions and it begins to move and answer the girls questions. All of a sudden, the room goes pitch black for a second. When they light the candles again and put their torches on, they realise one of the girls has gone missing. They all decide to search for her around the school. One of the girls finds her missing friend dead in a room. She starts crying and runs to tell the others. She finds her other friend and hugs her, crying uncontrollably. Suddenly, the girl she is hugging stabs her as she has been possessed by the spirit. This is the twist in the narrative. The last girl who was also looking for her friend sees this happen and runs as fast as she can to escape the possessed girl. She is trying to start her car but her engine is not working. The possessed girl appears in the back seat and covers her mouth. This is the end of the short film, and this will shock the audience.


Target Audience and Scheduling/Distribution
The target audience will mainly be female and around 15-20 years old. This is because the main characters in the short film will all be female and around 18 years old. Also, some of the content may not be suitable for under 15s as it will include some violent, gory content. The ethnicity will be mixed as there are characters of different ethnicities in the short film. The interests of the target audience may be watching horror movies. The location of the target audience will be London as the short film will be filmed in East London, and therefore those living in London will be able to relate to the locations in the film.
The short film will be distributed to our target audience via YouTube. This will be suitable as YouTube is a platform that enables anyone to create and upload any type of video content such as short films. Furthermore, YouTube is mainly used by a younger audience. Therefore, this will allow our short film to be watched by a large young audience.


Genre and Themes
The Genre of the short film will be Horror.
The Props used will involve fake blood, ouija board and candles.
The Recurring characters will be the four teenage girls, but mainly the girl who becomes possessed in the film, as she kills the three other girls one at a time.
The Sound will involve suspenseful and tense music as well as different sound effects such as a door creaking, a loud scream, loud breathing, and a loud bang.
The Cinematography will involve very slow moving camera pans to build a tense atmosphere, as well as a focus pull, changing the viewers attention from one character to the other who will be in the background.
The Lighting will be very dark, low key lighting, which will reflect a creepy atmosphere.
One key theme my film will explore is death. This will be shown when the possessed girl kills her three friends.


Setting and locations 
The film will be set in the modern day in London. We have chosen this setting as it will be suitable for our audience because they will be able to relate to the era and setting, as they will live in London and are living in the modern day.
The main locations will be inside of our school, Chadwell Heath Academy. The first location will be inside a room, which is also known as the drama studio at our school. This is a large room where we will be able to sit down in a circle and play the ouija board. Furthermore, it will also allow us to have low key lighting and will have a range of lights in the room. The next location will be in the corridors of the school where the girls will be looking for the missing girl. The final location will be outside, but inside of a car.


Personnel and job roles
I will be the director of the short film, as I feel that I would be good at directing the cast and my partner and have had a lot of previous experience when producing media products.
Both my partner and I will be camera operators and editors. We will both share responsibility of the production and post production of the film. When I am acting, my partner will be the camera operator and vice versa. The camera will have to be placed on a tripod and not operated whilst my partner and I are both on screen, as we are both actors in the film. We will both edit the short film together to ensure both of our ideas and editing techniques are applied to the short film, which will enable us to produce the highest quality short film.
The actresses will be:
Maheen - will be 1/4 of the group of teenage girls. I feel that she would be a great actress in the film as she is confident and enthusiastic. We have also offered to be actresses for her short film in return, and so she will be more likely to give her full effort.
Manpreet - will be 1/4 of the group of teenage girls. We have chosen her as she is very outgoing and reliable. We have also offered to be actresses for her short film in return, and so this ensures she will give her full effort.
Simran (me) - will be 1/4 of the group of teenage girls. I will be a good choice as I know how I want the character to act in the film, and so by being an actress, I feel like I will be in full control of how the character is portrayed. I will also be 100% committed and reliable as it is my short film.
Nierraja (partner) - will be 1/4 of the group of teenage girls. My partner will be a good choice as it ensures that she will be committed and reliable, and will put all of her effort into it, as it is also her short film.


Legal and ethical issues
The BBFC certificate for our short film would be a 15. This is because, BBFC guidelines states that the film should be classed as a 15 where "There may be strong threat and horror" and also states" Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury". Therefore, our film should be classed as a 15 as it includes violence and horror.
One issue of intellectual property which would affect our short film is copyrighted music. This is because, there will be a lot of copyrighted music online. Therefore, to resolve this we would have to find copyright free music that suits our horror film. This can be found on websites such as YouTube.
One ethical issue which may affect our short film production is that one of our actresses are under 18. This means we would have to gain permission from her parents/guardian for her to be involved in our short film.

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Lighting techniques


Sources of light

Direct lighting is the absence of light on any other side except the side with a single light source. This type of lighting can create glares and shadows which can create a dramatic atmosphere. Furthermore, the direct lighting will allow the focus to be on a certain object which will make it stand out from the shadows.

Indirect lighting is light coming from all sides in the photo. The light is more evenly balanced and the light reflects from different objects and onto the main subject. In areas where natural light is lacking, indirect lighting can provide the feeling of natural light, enhancing comfort and alertness.

Natural/Ambient lighting is light that is already present in the scene, before any additional lighting is added. This makes the scene look realistic and natural.

Artificial lighting refers to any light source that is produced by electrical means. This makes the setting look more natural, by making low dull ambient light more brighter and emphasising the subject.


Lighting equipment for Film and Television

Studio lighting rigs are the different lighting equipment fixed to the ceiling of a studio using bars. This will have a wide range of different lights to cater for all moods and requirements. 




Simple three-point lighting is the most common and basic lighting setup used in film and tv. The key light is the brightest light placed to one side of the camera so that this side of the subject is well lit whilst the other side has some shadow. The fill light is at medium light intensity and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. This is used to fill in the shadows created by the key light. The fill light will be softer and less bright than the key light. The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. It provides more definition around the subjects outlines and helps separate the subject from the background. This creates a three dimensional look.




Barn doors are light modifiers that shape and direct light. The barn doors are flexible and can be moved to create more focussed light on the subject. They have four hinged doors around the light source which can also create shapes such as squares and circles. When the barn doors are open, there will be more light on the subject, whereas when the barn doors are closed, there will be less light on the subject. 




Par cans are used for lighting stages and theatres. PAR stands for Parabolic Aluminium Reflector as the reflector helps to concentrate the shining light and gives the light an oval shape. There is usually a space for a gel frame near the front of the PAR cans, as colored gels are inserted into the frames to provide illumination in a variety of colours.



Fresnel Lanterns are soft-edged spotlights that offers control over the angle of the beam. A Fresnel lights beam is adjustable because you are able to move the lamp and the reflector closer or further away, by using a screw mechanism or a slide. These are used when focussing on a subject from a further distance.



Light panels are portable LED lights that come in a variety of sizes and lighting strengths. These are very easy to use as they can be taken to different locations when on set of filming.



On-camera lights are lights that can be fixed onto a camera. They are usually small and high powered. These are used when not much lighting is necessary.




Redheads are portable large standing 1K open face tungsten lights which simply means a 1000 Watt bare light bulb in a reflector with no lens. They are very harsh bright lights and may be too bright to be directed at a person's face, and so are often reflected onto the subject.




Reflectors are tools that are used to reflect existing light onto the subject.  A traditional white reflector simply bounces the light, and the light produced is nice and soft. A silver reflector doesn’t change the color of the light much, but it is a bit brighter than light reflected off a white one. Gold reflectors are designed to change the color of the light by warming it up a bit with an orange tone. Reflectors can also be used to fix odd shadows on the face, or even to prevent a backlit subject from becoming a silhouette.



Softboxes emulate natural light, which makes it ideal for frontal lighting. With just the right amount of power, it creates a broad coverage that’s great for softening shadows and lighting up more of the scene in front of it. Its interior lining—reflective silver or neutral white—is used to alter the quality of light.




Creative use of lighting for effect

  1. Lighting can be used to direct the viewer's attention to a specific area. For example, using the three point lighting technique helps to focus on the subject in the middle of the shot and makes them stand out from the background.
  2. Lighting is also used for shadows and highlights. Different types of lighting equipment can be used to enhance or lessen shadows/highlights. For example, three point lighting can get rid of shadows on the subjects face, and both sides will be evenly lit. More focussed lights such as par cans can create focus on the subject but create shadows and darkness on the other areas the lights are not focussing on.
  3. Lighting can be used to establish excitement in a film/show. This can be done by having bright high key lighting as it creates a sense of happiness as bright lights usually reflect excitement. 
  4. Lighting can be used to establish fear in a film/show. This is usually done by having low key lighting to create a suspenseful and creepy atmosphere. There will also be lots of darkness as it will make the audience feel on edge and anything can emerge out of the shadows.
  5. Lighting can be used to establish passion in a film/show. This can be done by having warm lighting as it creates a romantic and intimate atmosphere. 
  6. Chiaroscuro refers to the extremes of low and high-contrast lighting to create areas of light and darkness in films. This applies especially to black and white films. Often the light would only illuminate half of the subject’s face, while obscuring the other side, giving them a three dimensional shape and volume.


Group Discussion Video for Initial Ideas