Screenplay and Short Film Development Task
Screenplay-"Don't Look Twice":
Once the screenplay was finished, I wanted to "get ahead" and print off the script to edit and highlight lines for each actor, preparing for the shoot day.
I changed features with my group as we wanted to include the edited screenplay. I added extra lines for characters who didn't have many, to create the sense of a casual conversation. Also adding more setting and scenario details which we would benefit from when filming.
Story Board:
The storyboard linked above show a range of shot types which were included in the final cut of the short film "Don't Look Twice". With the different screenshots of the footage, there is an explanation of what occurs in the shot too.
Film:
Evaluation:
Lighting
On the bank holiday Monday when my group was shooting, it was one of the hottest days of the year and also was very bright with very blue skies. Monday was the only time everyone was available. Originally, I think it was everyone's intention to shoot on a cloudy, greyer and cooler day. This would of suited the type of horror aesthetic we were hoping to shoot for. As of the sun and heat, we all wore less clothes to stay cool, however the wardrobe choices would of changed to trousers, jumpers and coats possibly.
The positives of the blue sky was that it had a strong contrast between the inside and outside lighting. The shadows were much sharper as of the strong high key lighting just naturally form the sun. If the day was cloudy, we probably would of had to considered using extra studio lights which were more powerful and easily controllable.
From what we shot, I really like how clean and crisp the light was in particular scenes, such as the hallway scene with the intense shadows casted because of the light. I found setting my camera to the right exposure to be quite difficult as of the bright high key lighting, but there was nothing we could do while shooting. We could of used different editing techniques but they sometimes make the footage look too obviously tampered with, not showing the raw and authenticity of a particular shot.
Cinematography
Evaluating the final video, with the shot types, our group could of benefited drafting up a storyboard with just some brief concepts of shot types on paper or have more of a vivid plan of exactly needed shooting.
As Kira was filming with the camera being the director, she knew what she wanted with the storyline however we didn't have many establishing shots or extreme close ups which shows in the final cut of the short film.
Using the hand held camera technique throughout filming fell in to a typical horror convention. Creating a unstable and more realistic view of the footage to try make the spectator feel as if they were in the situation themselves.
Sound
The use of sound was quite effective when viewing the final video. We tried to create a contrast of "the outside world" from having the opening scenes near the car outside compared to inside the house were the atmosphere changed. Having music playing from the car was a subtle way to create a more normalised and casual conversation between the characters.
Once inside, there was no surrounding diegetic sound from cars for example which was recorded from filming in the outside scenes previously. This helped create more of a cinematic shift as of the absence of sound. It was a subtle technique and use of sound which the spectators would have to have an active spectatorship to notice.
With the horror scene when "David" is killed from the "Young Girl", we searched sound effects from YouTube to create the most realistic dying sound as possible. Again to make the scene more believable. Cutting to a black screen also was effective as it leaves the spectators in suspense and "in the dark" of what the "Young Girl" actually does to "David" to kill him.
Makeup and Performance
The only production makeup was on Sarah who played the "Young Girl" to add to the visual appearance of the character in the film. The make up was okay considering that I hadn't planned the look I used out before the shooting day. I could of made a Pinterest board for inspiration and discussed the desired features the group wanted the "Young Girl" character to have.
To improve next time if I were to use special effects make up on a shoot, I wouldn't of rushed as I feel like I could of made the character more realistic and believable if I had more time and prepared in advance, knowing exactly what I wanted to create.
If I did this again I would...
If I did this again, I would of shot on a cooler and cloudier day creating more of a gloomy and eery setting. Also of made sure everyone could of met up on the same time but more prepared than on the day. Learning lines, how to portray the character, etc just so we wouldn't be wasting more time to film on shooting day.
As of the greyer day, the lighting would be different, allowing me to film slightly under exposed to create a dark feel to the footage. If not then also research and make a filter to cover the lens of the camera to create the same consistent shot on all of the scenes.
Production Photos:
I wanted to include some production photos to show more of an insight to features "behind the scenes" and to include some of the preparation we had to do to make the set and filming run smoothly and use the limited amount of time we had to film all the footage we needed, as of everyone normally not being available to work with.
For example, as we were shooting at Kira's house, she wanted to manipulate and take advantage of the space she had to suit the visual conventions of a horror film. She covered her furniture to match the screenplay description of a "recently furbished house" aesthetic with quite neutral colours. Also taking photo frames down to make the setting look inhabited and abandoned, changing her normal day-to-day living decorations to fit an eery and uncomfortable setting.
I also contributed to the visual production of our short film "Don't Look Twice" by using my skills with special effects make up. As of the young girl (played by Sarah) with an appearance of having a "hideous deformity" in the film, I wanted to create something to make her look disturbing and uncomfortable for the spectators to experience within the film.
I used cotton wool mixed with liquid latex to apply to the top lip, leaving a gap in the middle as the base of the deformity effect. I built onto this with white and black paint, also doing this around the showing skin on the body to show discolouration and an unusual appearance to the skin. To top off, I used fake blood to exaggerate the cause death of the character and to also link my makeup look to common horror conventions. Such as of having excessive amounts of blood and a strong contrast of red with the dark visuals of the film.
Once the screenplay was finished, I wanted to "get ahead" and print off the script to edit and highlight lines for each actor, preparing for the shoot day.
I changed features with my group as we wanted to include the edited screenplay. I added extra lines for characters who didn't have many, to create the sense of a casual conversation. Also adding more setting and scenario details which we would benefit from when filming.
The storyboard linked above show a range of shot types which were included in the final cut of the short film "Don't Look Twice". With the different screenshots of the footage, there is an explanation of what occurs in the shot too.
Film:
Evaluation:
Lighting
On the bank holiday Monday when my group was shooting, it was one of the hottest days of the year and also was very bright with very blue skies. Monday was the only time everyone was available. Originally, I think it was everyone's intention to shoot on a cloudy, greyer and cooler day. This would of suited the type of horror aesthetic we were hoping to shoot for. As of the sun and heat, we all wore less clothes to stay cool, however the wardrobe choices would of changed to trousers, jumpers and coats possibly.
The positives of the blue sky was that it had a strong contrast between the inside and outside lighting. The shadows were much sharper as of the strong high key lighting just naturally form the sun. If the day was cloudy, we probably would of had to considered using extra studio lights which were more powerful and easily controllable.
From what we shot, I really like how clean and crisp the light was in particular scenes, such as the hallway scene with the intense shadows casted because of the light. I found setting my camera to the right exposure to be quite difficult as of the bright high key lighting, but there was nothing we could do while shooting. We could of used different editing techniques but they sometimes make the footage look too obviously tampered with, not showing the raw and authenticity of a particular shot.
Cinematography
Evaluating the final video, with the shot types, our group could of benefited drafting up a storyboard with just some brief concepts of shot types on paper or have more of a vivid plan of exactly needed shooting.
As Kira was filming with the camera being the director, she knew what she wanted with the storyline however we didn't have many establishing shots or extreme close ups which shows in the final cut of the short film.
Using the hand held camera technique throughout filming fell in to a typical horror convention. Creating a unstable and more realistic view of the footage to try make the spectator feel as if they were in the situation themselves.
Sound
The use of sound was quite effective when viewing the final video. We tried to create a contrast of "the outside world" from having the opening scenes near the car outside compared to inside the house were the atmosphere changed. Having music playing from the car was a subtle way to create a more normalised and casual conversation between the characters.
Once inside, there was no surrounding diegetic sound from cars for example which was recorded from filming in the outside scenes previously. This helped create more of a cinematic shift as of the absence of sound. It was a subtle technique and use of sound which the spectators would have to have an active spectatorship to notice.
With the horror scene when "David" is killed from the "Young Girl", we searched sound effects from YouTube to create the most realistic dying sound as possible. Again to make the scene more believable. Cutting to a black screen also was effective as it leaves the spectators in suspense and "in the dark" of what the "Young Girl" actually does to "David" to kill him.
Makeup and Performance
The only production makeup was on Sarah who played the "Young Girl" to add to the visual appearance of the character in the film. The make up was okay considering that I hadn't planned the look I used out before the shooting day. I could of made a Pinterest board for inspiration and discussed the desired features the group wanted the "Young Girl" character to have.
To improve next time if I were to use special effects make up on a shoot, I wouldn't of rushed as I feel like I could of made the character more realistic and believable if I had more time and prepared in advance, knowing exactly what I wanted to create.
If I did this again I would...
If I did this again, I would of shot on a cooler and cloudier day creating more of a gloomy and eery setting. Also of made sure everyone could of met up on the same time but more prepared than on the day. Learning lines, how to portray the character, etc just so we wouldn't be wasting more time to film on shooting day.
As of the greyer day, the lighting would be different, allowing me to film slightly under exposed to create a dark feel to the footage. If not then also research and make a filter to cover the lens of the camera to create the same consistent shot on all of the scenes.
Production Photos:
I wanted to include some production photos to show more of an insight to features "behind the scenes" and to include some of the preparation we had to do to make the set and filming run smoothly and use the limited amount of time we had to film all the footage we needed, as of everyone normally not being available to work with.
For example, as we were shooting at Kira's house, she wanted to manipulate and take advantage of the space she had to suit the visual conventions of a horror film. She covered her furniture to match the screenplay description of a "recently furbished house" aesthetic with quite neutral colours. Also taking photo frames down to make the setting look inhabited and abandoned, changing her normal day-to-day living decorations to fit an eery and uncomfortable setting.
I also contributed to the visual production of our short film "Don't Look Twice" by using my skills with special effects make up. As of the young girl (played by Sarah) with an appearance of having a "hideous deformity" in the film, I wanted to create something to make her look disturbing and uncomfortable for the spectators to experience within the film.
I used cotton wool mixed with liquid latex to apply to the top lip, leaving a gap in the middle as the base of the deformity effect. I built onto this with white and black paint, also doing this around the showing skin on the body to show discolouration and an unusual appearance to the skin. To top off, I used fake blood to exaggerate the cause death of the character and to also link my makeup look to common horror conventions. Such as of having excessive amounts of blood and a strong contrast of red with the dark visuals of the film.
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