PRO'S & CON'S (ANALYSIS) FOR THE OVERALL PROCEDURE.

IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS POST WILL BE UNDERGOING CONSTANT UPDATES BY MYSELF (HASSAN RAZA KHAN) UNTIL THE 31ST OF MARCH 2017.


PRO'S ACROSS THE BOARD. (THINGS THAT WENT WELL)

Coming up with ideas was a simple task. We worked well as a group, which allowed us to share our thoughts with one another, enabling rapid progression. We had a verbal discussion about what we should be doing and had later brainstormed our ideas on a story board officially.

Setting up the location and managing out the days went better than expected. Our location (THE FAMOUS ESPERO APARTMENT) was situated in WhiteChapel. The price of the studio was £150 for 2 hours, but Anam & Alex had managed to reduce the price by £50. Although the price had come down to £100, the girls did outtake some serious negotiations with the people. They had persuaded them enough, allowing them to drop the price down as much as they could. The group was dedicated to get the work done and reach the location in time. Managing our schedule was tight but smooth. We found a day where everyone was free and could use that time to get on with filming. Everyone was allocated a few jobs each, allowing time to be saved. We worked extremely well and are still in the process of doing our individual and group tasks. This will provide us with extra time at the end, to add the final touches to our opening sequence alongside our blogs.

Filming and editing was not as challenging as we had anticipated it to be. I (HASSAN) played the role of the news reporter. This was filmed in school, in the media classroom and was a huge advantage for us. ALL the facilities were provided to us. These consist of 4 bright camera lights, 5 tripods, 1 reel, 2 desks and chairs, 1 camera to record and most importantly, the ultimate green screen. This was all cost free and allowed us to proceed much quicker. We had also been given the foundations by our technical media teacher (Mr. Michaels) on how to use and set up all the equipment before filming. Whilst` editing, we had to look up quite a few videos on YouTube, in order to find out how to remove the green screen, how to colour correct and also how to add in effects such as glitches and eerie sounds in the background. We are still in the process of editing. 2 of us had not used Adobe Premiere Pro before. However, we were fortunate enough to discover the software, as it was simply layed out before us. We were also fortunate enough to have Alex in our group, who had some experience with the software.Completing phase 1 of the opening sequence. Phase 1 is showing the teacher and getting feedback which will help us improve our work. We managed to do this and had observed that eerie background music and more shots of the studio followed by darkness will rapidly enhance the realism and verisimilitude of the situation.
Progress.





CON'S ACROSS THE BOARD. (ASPECTS
WHERE IMPROVEMENTS & ADJUSTMENTS COULD BE MADE)


Studio price. The price per person was £50 for a total of 2 hours. This was a very costly sum of money and we, as a group, should have tried to pursue further negotiations, in order to decrease the amount to be paid. Despite the amazing location and features the studio has to offer, there was a major downfall when filming and editing. The issue was that the natural lighting coming from the high windows were too bright. This was a huge hurdle we have to try and overcome and will be one of the main issues we need to focus on. Colour correcting could be a suggestion, in order to make the surroundings look darker.
Another issue was that the "AHA PRODUCTIONS" logo was too bright and needed to fit in alongside the dark theme. We are currently working on trying to blend it in with the overall "black theme". This will allow some consistency to flow through the opening sequence, rather than nonmatching themes and shots. The inconsistent shots will ruin the mood and appearance of the opening sequence, hence making us as a group look bad.


IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS POST WILL BE UNDERGOING CONSTANT UPDATES BY MYSELF (HASSAN RAZA KHAN) UNTIL THE 31ST OF MARCH 2017.

FILMS THAT INFLUENCED OUR PITCH FOR THE HORROR OPENING SEQUENCE.

The films that had influenced our pitch, consists of "The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, REC, CREEP and The Devil Inside.
All these films contribute to ideas for our opening sequence. However, the main film that really inspired us, is "The Blair Witch Project". The reason behind this is because the film shows 2 girls vlogging and are seen as being very panicky due to strange noises appearing within their surroundings.
Our initial aim was a to create an opening sequence which is made up of our own ideas. We were successfully able to do this but had used "The Blair Witch Project" as a guideline for our opening sequence. This enabled us to get the most out of ourselves in terms of settings, colour, sounds and overall feeling.
"Paranormal Activity" and "REC" were both along the same lines in regards to the mix of CCTV and camcorder footage which allows 1st person experience, therefore providing easy access to the audience in order for them to feel a part in the film. This builds a heavy interaction between the vloggers on the screen. It almost feels that we (AS THE ACTORS) are taking the audience on a haunted journey with us.
In the film "CREEP", the relationships between the friends are absolutely normal. The day had started off normally but deep into the day, obstructions had begun to block their path. In comparison to our opening sequence, we have Julia and Sandra having a light laugh at the beginning, until one of them disappears. This is deeply disturbing. This is a mystery. In "CREEP", one of the friends was in the process of drowning (being suffocated under water) and we had thought to replicate something disturbing, but in a different form. Another pro for this particular film is that it had some help from the makers of "Paranormal Activity". This was extremely ideal as they both share the process of naturality when filming.

Last but not least, "The Devil Inside" had parts within the film, where a news reporter was setting the scene, talking about how a Christian church had got involved with the exorcism of someone's mother. We thought that this would be a great idea for our opening sequence, ensuring that the dilemma is being broadcasted by the media, allowing everyone to know what the situation stands like.

The sole purpose for us choosing the "FOUND FOOTAGE" genre rather than any other genre is because we find them quite typical. Murder scenes, baby dolls, broken objects, killers, chasing between the villain and the victim had all appeared as the "usual" and "standard" in our minds. Found footage contains of a more natural approach in horror and we wanted to do something that was different from all the other groups. We wanted to be the outcast from everyone else, in terms of showcasing the "HORROR" opening sequence. I believe that our winning mentality of thinking outside the box had enabled us to think of a number of ideas, allowing us to enhance and broaden what we aimed to achieve.

Our "FOUND FOOTAGE" opening scene, at the Espero apartment, was heavily encouraged and mainly influenced by "The Blair Witch Project". As mentioned previously, this film had most of our main ideas and we pushed boundaries by coming up with our own ideas and merging them with what we already have.

  

 

BACKGROUND MUSIC / SOUNDS FOR THE HORROR OPENING SEQUENCE.

The type of sound and background music in a horror film and horror opening sequence need to go exceptionally well with regards to what is happening on the screen.

In horror films, the music provides an insight to the audience about how a particular character or set of characters are feeling. This is heavily seen in horror films based on murder. We hear a long mix of screeching sounds whenever a victim is about to be killed right in front of their loved ones, despite the effort of the other victims trying to help or escape.

For our group (AHA) it is a different case whereby our theme is based on found footage. We had researched that Found Footage is a more natural and informal view of telling the base of a story. 

Paranormal Activity is a prim and classic example of found footage where parts of the film is seen in first person and this enables more interactivity and experience.  

Coming onto the main topic... MUSIC AND SOUND. In Found Footage films, music is NOT an essential part in the film, but can be very USEFUL at times. Sound rather than music has more of a heavy effect on the atmosphere and surrounding. Due to the first person view and the theme, all of the sound is almost natural. These natural sounds consist of banging of doors, intense and prolonged screaming, breaking of objects and loud footsteps. For our opening sequence in the Espero Apartment, we had figured that we need a LOT of different sounds within the opening sequence, but at different parts. Whilst Julia Rose and Sandra Park will be vlogging, there needs to be some sort of eerie sounds in the background, in order to add some verisimilitude in their actions.

I (HASSAN) have found some links to (NCS) Non-Copyright Sounds which will be useful for our horror opening sequence.

http://soundbible.com/tags-horror.html

http://soundbible.com/tags-horror-movie.html

https://www.freesoundeffects.com/free-sounds/scary-and-horror-10085/

https://www.audioblocks.com/royalty-free-audio/horror-sound-effects

http://www.musicnote-world.com/bgm/horror.html

All 5 of these links, consist of different horror movie sounds which range from squelching, oozing bloody noises to floorboards creaking and high pitch screams. Of course, not all of these will be relevant to our opening sequence, but the advantage of having a number of places to choose from, is the variety we have. 

In the famous Espero Apartment, the natural background sounds will be, talking in different tones, closing of doors and also the sound of the camera dropping to the ground. However, these diegetic sounds need to lifted by some non-diegetic sounds. These could be eerie low and high pitch music, different use of instruments and backward supernatural prayers.

For my scene in the horror film, (NEWS REPORTER FOR BBC WORLD) we have come up with an idea to use a visual glitch effect on the tv screen, followed by the sound, which would relate to the distortion and interruption of the news report.

http://www.zapsplat.com/sound-effect-category/glitches/

The link above consists of many glitch sound effects, but our aim is to merge a few sounds, creating our own glitch sound effect. It was my idea to have this sound playing whilst the visual glitch effect is in process, on the screen during my news reporting scene.

I was inspired by the glitch effect from General Zod's message in the film, "Man Of Steel".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6g2ZSuWyM4
  

GENDER REPRESENTATION IN HORROR.

MEN: In horror films, men are usually seen as the heroes of the film as they always carve some sort of plan in order to save their loved ones or any victims. 

They are seen as the key to defeat the villains due to the stigma being attached to them for being brave and in some cases, their well physique. The male heroes are seen as the typical stereotype. This is because they are the main leader which results in them trying to impress, comfort and satisfy the other victim and side characters around them. This can be seen in “The Cabin In The Woods” as “Chris Hemsworth” is seen as the one and only hero, excluding the rest. Despite the typical male hero giving their best shot to offer protection, they end up being severely injured or dead towards the end of the movie. This is done to establish and emphasize their authority, making the audience feel for them and build a special connection with them in regards to how much work the male hero has done.

Overall, the men are seen as the dominant figure, rising above everyone else in almost every aspect of the horror film. The men can be seen as a comfort cushion for the other characters in the horror film as they automatically become inspired, motivated and engaged by the main man. This enable them to have some hope to get through the rough times but doesn’t always go to plan.

 In addition to the men’s role in the horror film, they are also sometimes seen as playing the villain. In the horror film “Scream”, the villain is a male dressed in a black cape and a scary white mask. This gives them an image of being evil, cold hearted and violent. The debate on superiority ends when talking about standard of gender. 

The males are at the very top of the hierarchy when observing who the villain is being played by. In the horror film, “Friday  ^13th, the male villain was wearing a ragged and ripped costume which instantly gave him a animalistic, non-civilized and an outcast look, distinguishing him from the rest of the characters, therefore signifying his importance. The evil male would find pleasure and enjoy the moments of pain being endured by the victims. The evil male is seen as heartless, showing no sympathy towards the ones suffering. This shows a completely different side to how the male can be “good” or “bad. This kick starts the next topic on “contrast” in the men’s two roles. Men are seen as more superior but tend to play more as the villain than the hero due to the support of their physical strength backing up the point of them being ruthless when it comes to killings and outraging behaviour which society does not accept nor agree with. The woman would play the victim more than they would the hero role because they are often undermined by the thought of them playing the strong villain.

WOMEN: The women in horror films are seen as having a weak physique and are more vulnerable to being injured or dying as they find it difficult to protect themselves. 

They tend to panic more and follow some instructions of the villain which evidently lead to death. In the horror film “Scream” a young, beautiful, physically appealing young mid 20’^s blonde had died within the first few minutes of the opening scene. She was portrayed as a rather emotional woman. A good looking woman in a horror film is seen as a sexual object used to create pleasure for the dirty minded / average male. The males in the horror film are attracted to this because this is how they view woman overall as being nothing of use other than sexual objects. The female is likely to over react, cry or get very emotional, disrupting the plan of the male and causing havoc and unnecessary pressure and tension. Women tend to try and help the male in the process of solving the situation and escaping from the villain but instead, end up accidentally foiling the plan and diverting the situation to have a much worse outcome. The men sometimes view the women as a distraction or see them as an obstruction because another stereotypical factor would be that the women hold the men back from concentrating and doing their jobs.

In contrast to the soft side of the women, there are some female characters who tend to break this barrier and get rid of the thought that women are seen as puny. In a horror film called “Shining”, the actress “Shelley Duvall” shows an excellent impression on how she has a rigid and tough personality by surviving alongside a son as well. Despite the fact that she is still terrified, she manages to find strength and maintains a strong “Never Give Up” mentality, therefore defying and putting to bed the light side of women. After she had defeated her abusing and narrow minded husband, she manages to be independent and still able to protect others at the same time. Her leadership qualities shows the audience that being ruthless but with smart and tactical thoughts, will empower the individual enabling total control of the situation no matter how bad it may be. Duvall has showed that woman may sometimes crack under pressure but also have an on going determination and resistance factor which helps them to keep going further, progressing and solving problems. 

Men would be the centre points for battling, winning and taking control, but that is not necessarily always the case in all horror movies. 

Although the male is the main character in most horror movies, the female also has a say by proving to the men that they are actually of some use and not just a so called “sexual object” used for pleasure. Also, in “A Nightmare On Elm Street”, the hero, the protagonist – “Nancy Thompson” is the individual who manages to save and change the day after helping her helpless boyfriend as he was neutered by her after being attacked by the fedora-wearing menace. Nancy had placed booby traps all around her house in order to capture and confront the killer. (villain) Again, this shows how women are capable to take charge, showing determination which not only men possess. Men however are still seen as the dominant and all mighty ones due to their strength, hard work and contribution. Due to these features they possess, the women are paid little attention and not as much as they actually deserve.

"FEED THE FISH". / PRELIMINARY TASK.

This is our preliminary task, called "Feed The Fish". The script was given to us beforehand, where we  only had to follow the instructions provided then create a video according to it. The editing aspects and different types of shots were done by us, as well as the cutting and recording. As a group, we concluded to make a sinister comedy collaboration, followed by extra footage, expressing the dramatic effect. The thumbnail of the video, shows one of my peer members (ALEX) playing a stereotypical Russian boss, holding a white stuffed bunny. This shows the 2 sides of her and makes our entire clip emphasise the seriousness and comical side of the situation. Due to this, the audience already know that this clip is not to be taken seriously because of the involvement of humours acts within it.
When filming this clip, it had turned out to be much easier than expected because we already knew when, how and where to use the camera at a different angle each time. This was dependant on what was going on at that time of the clip. However, the acting part was not as challenging because the scrips that we had been given were rather simple. On the contrary, it did take us quite a few times to film particulate scenes, as it was our first time doing the entire process. (E.G. Editing, recording, acting, cuts) Editing was the most challenging aspect of this clip because after jumping over all the hurdles, we had to ensure that the cuts run smoothly and do not appear very abrupt and sudden. We tried to concentrate mainly on the editing.
I (HASSAN) was not in the short film, but was the camera man. This was quite a challenging but exciting experience for me as this was my first time taking charge of the shots and recording. The editing contained an error, where by and unnecessary jump shot had been made by me by accident. I had also forgot to film the third scene of my peer (ANAM) opening the door. This had stuck a thorn into the continuity shot and did not make it look as good as it should have done.

We had received some constructive criticism from our fellow class mates and our 2 media teachers. When watching our short "Feed The Fish" film, they had stated that our editing and the parallel editing was smooth and soft, the POV was really good and we followed the 180 degree rule perfectly. The reverse shot and the shot of trees had brought confusion to everyone as it did not fit in with the film. The framing however, could have been a lot better. 

In my opinion, despite the fact that some errors were made by myself in regards to the shots, recording and filming, I thoroughly enjoyed filming. I have looked over my mistakes by learning how and where I went wrong, allowing me to apply my new knowledge later on in media for upcoming filming and editing tasks. I believe that my camera skills were quite good but do need improvement on in order for me to obtain the best set of results.

Overall, the experience was amazing because we, as a group got to learn more about each other as well as ourselves. We enjoyed working with one another and also pointed out what key skills we possess individually as well as points where guidance was needed. 

THE EDITING PROCESS FOR MY NEWS BROADCAST OPENING SEQUENCE.

The software that our teacher had recommended us to use was "Adobe Premiere Pro". Myself and my other peer (Anam) had never come across to using this software before, but luckily, Alex, who was the experienced one about using this particular software, had showed and taught us how to use the programme. Since then, we both grasped the techniques. After being taught, we all had editing chances of 3 times each, ensuring that everyone is comfortable with the ideas and the software.

After filming, going over and analysing my news reporting scene, we had to undergo the editing, special effects and background process to set the scene. 

The key and simple task in this editing process was to trim the separate videos of me and merge them into one. We had gone over videos several times to ensure that we have not cut too much or too little of parts of my scenes. The colour correcting aspect of editing was the most challenging part as well as adjusting the lighting. This all needed to be fully covered, enabling me and the background to appear more naturally.

 These are some pictures showing the type of software we had to use in order for the editing to take place.We had helped on another and focusing on key elements such as close up and zoom. We had also used a YouTube video which had guided us to removing the green screen and adding our own background as well as adjusting the outline of the sides of my face and my body as a whole. When coming near to the editing, we had noticed that my body outline was green, so we had researched and tried various techniques in order to get rid of the green outlines, This was accomplished and and ensured our editing was a huge success. It is visible how the blue background and headline infant of me on the screen, adds realism to the scene, also taking into account my suit blending in with the presentation and the scenario.


The experience was breathtakingly enjoyable because we had learnt new skills such as editing on a new software. This had initially provided us with the base layer for editing for the rest of the opening sequence, allowing us to use the skills we have learnt and also to develop them further via trying new methods, resulting in a better outcome.

FILMING NEWS BROADCAST OPENING SEQUENCE SCENE.

For the opening scene, we had filmed the news broadcast, in which I (HASSAN) was playing the role of the British news reporter, working for BBC World.

As a group, we had decided that the effect of the green screen would be beneficial and efficient as it could provide us with a sense of realism. We taught ourselves how to use a green screen by making sure that the bright lights were in the right position when filming. There were 2 lights on both sides in front of me in order to make me stand out and brighten up my face, showing that I'am the key feature of the scene. There were another 2 lights on both sides behind me, directing onto the green screen in order to ensure that my shadow is minimalised to the max. I also had to be in the correct position (directly in front of the camera) so everything balances out. An estimated time of 30 minutes was taken to set up the tables, chair and especially the lighting, camera and the green screen.

Personally, when filming my scenes, I felt that they went better than expected. Despite the fact that I received such a short notice for memorizing my lines, I came up with a technique that would ensure my lines to be memorized really quick. I had about 14 lines to remember whereby I had been writing 2 sets after the video had been paused, enabling me to break up the the heavy chunks into easier bite-size pieces to memorize.

Filming my news reporting scene had exceeded over 30 minutes as this was everyone's first time adjusting to the roles that they have been  given. There were many bloopers where I had forgot to say a particular word, or the accent was not great but I overcame that by re-doing those parts. This had allowed me to obtain the best set of results where I, alongside the group had felt that all my dialogues fit in with one another.

Learning about the entire process overall was explained to us by the technical media teacher, Mr.Phillips. He had provided us with the outlines for the camera, lights and green screen and had left us to work independently after providing us with the basic foundation facts we need to know. This had taken us approximately 1 hour overall. This was very beneficial for us because we developed our skills further each time, enabling us to get the best out of our abilities, therefore producing a fine and sound result.

I had rehearsed several times off camera, ensuring that I know my lines thoroughly and that I know when I should stop and continue. I had the entire copy of my dialogue and gave keywords on a sheet of paper to my other 2 peers in my group so that they know when they should stop recording ad start a new and fresh set to record. This contributed to efficiency and time management.

The green screen provided my news reporting scene with some verisimilitude and had really given the overall scene a huge boost in terms of seriousness and professionalism.

RISK ASSESSMENT DURING THE PROCESS OF FILMING.

MUSIC AND SOUND IN HORROR FILMS.

 MUSIC. 

In horror films, a lot of non-diegetic music is used in order to gradually build up the suspense and tension throughout the films. A use of high and low pitch music is used, depending on the scene at that point in time. An example could be in the movie “Jaws” because as the shark gets closer to it’s victim and begins to lurk more, the music increases in tone ranging from a low deep tone to a high pitch almost screeching tone. This is done to let the audience know that the shark is coming very quickly and death for the victim is just seconds away. This will strike fear into the audience, making them feel uneasy and uncomfortable and wanting to almost jump out of their seats, making the effect wear onto them. The non-diegetic music adds some realism and lifelike feeling for the audience’s experience.

 Violins, light trumpets, harps and pianos were used in the Jaws theme tune and also in every horror film. For horror films in general, they involve eerie sounds throughout the movie to add effect to the scenario and also to the seriousness of the situation. The use of gradually increasing non-diegetic music makes the audience come up with predictions, also knowing that the music is only increasing as a signifier for them that something bad is about to happen. The scary sounds are an indication, making them feel out of their comfort zone. In the horror film “The Possession”, the awkward sounds heavily appear when the old lady loses control. 

Her face begins to slop on one side, her arms drop and she is being controlled by the demon. From the very first uneven sign from her face, the non-diegetic music had started to increase time by time until the old lady had collapsed on the ground and died.  This brings us onto the next topic whereby there is a contrast between the different tones of the music. This is solely dependent on what is happening on the screen at the exact moment of time. During some parts of a horror film, there is no music because the audience is listening to the diegetic sounds of footsteps, whispering of the victim and simply observing the slow movement of action on the screen. The non diegetic sounds will only make an appearance once the victim is edging the beginning of the end of the action scene. Eerie sounds are mainly used during the build up of something. The use of mixing dark lighting and quiet sounds of music can make the atmosphere feel quite airy and empty, leaving the audience to embark upon a spine chilling journey.

 SOUND.

In horror films, the audience need to be able to build a special connection and relationship with the characters and find a mix of love and hate in the film. The use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound enables them to do this. There are contrapuntal sounds where the image on the screen may be very daunting but the music playing in the background is a song from a children’s fairy tale. (VICE VERSA) This shows a contrast between light and dark. There could be dull creepy music but a beautiful toy doll being shown on the screen and this would show the stark contrast between the two features, eventually leading to predictions from the audience.

 A demon, spirit or the human being (victim) could all express their feelings via the use of the diegetic sounds. This could be done via screaming, loud thuds of footsteps, slamming of doors and use of clattering objects. This emphasizes and allows the characters feeling and emotions to come out. On the other hand, the diegetic sounds are a key focus point in horror films as they are eye opening to the audience. From the mysterious creaking of the doors and wooden floorboards to the quiet and sound footsteps of a demon or a victim, the suspense is built instantaneously. These types of highlights immediately attract the viewer’s attention. 

The attention to detail is vital in terms of playing the correct sound at the right place at the right time in order to distract the audience then surprise them with something more frightening and unusual that they did not expect / see it coming. Overall, the use of using diegetic and non-diegetic sounds at the same time enables suspense at a faster rate, therefore allowing tension to build up more rapidly followed by some action between the victim and the villain. The eerie music and the natural sounds show how the setting and location is not a safe place to be and sets the tone for the upcoming scenes in the horror film.