Makeup

Filming Session 1

Our first day of filming does not include any of the flashback scenes so we don't have to go too detailed with the make up or use any of the blood:

To make our young girl character appear lifeless and weak we decided to experiment with make up to make sure she really fitted the role and to add an even more chilling effect to our opening sequence. We found that it was effective to cover her face and neck in talcum powder because it gave her a ghostly look and showed she was dead or ill. We then used dark brown eye shadow and put it below her eyes and heavily on her eyelids. We also did the same with her cheekbones, and this gave her face a very sunken and fragile look. To make sure her face was colourless, we also added a touch of pale liquid concealer to her lips to draw out any sign of healthiness in her face. For a finishing touch, we used pink blusher to faintly draw the outline of the rope burn on her neck from where she had been hung. 

We used make up on Emma, but not on Izzie. We did this because we want Izzie to look natural, like the surroundings of the woods. We gave Emma the make up to create her spirit-like features. it also makes her stand out against the trees and Izzie. The use of soft colours on her skin still reveal her childlike innocence and naivety to the audience. However, the excess use of soft colours against her face create a harsh, ill-stricken look. The talcum powder is also chalky and patchy. At first, we questioned whether it looked professional. however, once tested on Emma's face, we found it looked effective as her face looked worn away in certain areas in the light. 

Fake Blood: 

We discovered that fake blood can be very thin and sometimes look unprofessional. I (Amanda) tested the blood out on a piece of white clothing. Doing this, I found it can be thin, but resembles real blood well. It is not lumpy and even spreads out. However, it takes a while to dry as you can see in the last picture. 

Here is a few pictures on a sample: 

Opening Sequence Credits - Progress

We have used the same font for our credits as the film title. We did this to increase continuity, as we said in our previous post. We like this font as it is bold, yet mysterious as it has elements scratched out of it. Below, we have our font and our film title. We used live type to make our title because it has movement, looks more professional and is more thrilling than a still title.  The credits are included in our title video. However these are just initial credits, our final credits will be created in the next week. 

This is the exact font we were looking for. The fact that every letter is a capital letter makes the words seem more dramatic and important. We chose the credits to be white. We did this because our production company logo is Black, White and Red. Our title text is red. Our production company logo text is black. Having the credits white will mean we included all of our colours we wanted. This increases continuity and shows the fact we put thought into the little details of our opening sequence. 

As previously said, we want our credits to be: 

• Emma Winn
• Izzie Lattimore 
• Produced By
• Costume and Make Up 
• Edited By
• Music By
• Directed By

We won't have mine and Clare's name after every credit as it becomes boring. We plan to use our names separately  (for different credits). This way the credits won't be repetitive and boring. 

Opening Sequence Credits - Initial Ideas

We wants our credits to be bold and dramatic. We want them to link with the theme of our opening sequence. We very much like our production company logo font as it links with our title font and the music (heart monitor) we want in our piece. Using a font with this element, if possible will increase continuity and look more professional. 

If this font is not possible, we want to use a bold font, that stands out dramatically against our filming, like the blood on the girls dress. Doing this will also show the genre and, like our production company logo, create the tense, chilling effect we wish to achieve. 

Our previous post (Production Company Logo - Fonts), link with our genre and are bold and dramatic. Ideally, we would like use any of these, or something similar for our opening credits. We want our credits to appear on our filming. We chose this because putting them over a black screen will lose the audiences attention and lower the tension of the film if it isn't ongoing. 

Filming Problems

Over half term we planned to film on Friday 22nd February and Sunday 24th February. However, I started work on Friday and did not finish until 5:30. By this time it was too dark to get a vivid shot of our actors. Also, it was unfair for Clare to do the bulk of Fridays planned filming by herself. Also, on Sunday, Clare was ill. We thought it would be best to let Clare recover and film later, when she was better and on point than with her not feeling well. Due to these problems we were unable to film over half term. However, we plan to film during the week so we can start editing on Thursday 28th February or next week. We have ensured our actors are available all week to make sure no further problems arise. 

Practice Shots

To make sure our ideas would go to plan on both our shooting days, we thought it necessary to visit our location and take some practice shots of the most challenging ideas we had thought of previously. We focused on the hanging scene and how we would go about portraying this realistically in our opening sequence, so we visited the woods where our filming would take place and set up a small step ladder under some low branches in order to give the impression the girl was high up in the trees and that she was swinging from a rope. Overall, our shots were successful and gave us a confidence boost in our work.



Our first attempt is shown here to the left, which we thought correctly portrayed the girl hanging herself and gave the right assumptions due to the height and background scenery with all the trees and branches. However, we realised this location would not be successful because the branch was too high up and so it wouldn't be possible for us to film the shot where her feet were swinging, which would require her to cling onto the branch for a few seconds. We had to pick a much safer location.

Here, we can see a full photograph of how we went about shooting this part of our opening sequence. We took a step ladder and placed it underneath the branch we wanted to use and then Amanda acted as the girl for the practice shots to see how accurate it would look. Even though this is a successful shot, we continued searching for an area that was much safer for our actors.

We decided to use this tree shown on the left, because the branches were much lower and it would involve less climbing and also was surrounded in grass rather than stinging nettles. This tree enabled us to take some practice shots of the feet swinging to give the impression the girl is dead and literally hanging, and we could also use the small step ladder to show the girl being literally hung around the neck.

Amanda acted as the girl again so that we could position her in different ways and find out which angle would gain the most realism whilst also picking a tree that wasn't too high up and would cause any accidents.

To the left is a shot we aim to use to show her feet dangling, although we then agreed it might be better if we ask our actress to hang onto the branch and lift her feet up for a few seconds, enabling us to film her feet properly and not to give away the fact she is so close to the ground, so we would aim to remove the very bottom of the tree out of the shot.

Here is a practice shot using the same tree as before, which is very effective because we can see she is high up due to the branches and the forest much lower down in the shot. The fact we can see lots of branches behind the girl (Emma Winn) gives an effect of it looking more realistic and busy. 

Also, we have chosen this certain area in Pickhurst Recreation Grounds as it secluded and quite empty, but shows the mass of trees behind it. It shows that when the victim (Izzie Latimore) runs away from the girl (Emma Winn), she will be running into the trees and have no means of escaping. From the rope we used, we found out we needed a dark colour to contrast with the white sky and be more visible. We also want our rope to be thicker to make our shot more effective. The colour of the sky is perfect against the trees as it will bring out the colour of the girls face and make it stand out. The thick rope will also be the first thing seen by the audience, creating the correct atmosphere, shocking them and drawing them in to our opening sequence. 

Animated Storyboard

Below is our animated storyboard which we created by using our previous drawn storyboard. By making this animated storyboard we could experiment with different timings for each shot and determine how long our overall opening sequence would be. We could also experiment with some music alongside the storyboard which we have done to see how well it fitted.

Music Initial Ideas

We are hoping to use 'The Teddy Bears Picnic' as a song in our opening sequence. This is because we can distort it to sound scary. Also, the girl has a teddy bear and it's located in the woods. The song fits in well with our opening sequence and it's themes. 

We like this version of the song as it is quite creepy and chilling: 


This deep, mysterious version is good as we can mix it with the first one to change the pitch and distort the song: (0.29 seconds - 0.45 seconds) and we could also use it whilst our character Izzie is running away from the girl.

We want to use the sound of a heartbeat when Izzie is running away from the girl to create tension and a fast pace sequence. 


This beeping sound of the heart monitor will be used when our title appears, to signify Izzie's death and the horror of our opening sequence. It will also be used when her phone cuts out: 


This song could be used to go quite quietly in the background as Izzie is walking through the woods because it isn't too dramatic but gives the sense that danger is close by:


Also, we can use this music during the 'hanging scenes' because they are chilling and also quite intense which can add to the feeling during this part of our opening sequence:

Costume and Props

Here is an image of the fake blood we will be using as part of make up and costume. During the scenes where she is violently being hung, the girl's face and dress will be covered in this fake blood, which is why we plan to film the flashbacks on a different day. 















We will also be using a knife in one scene but will make sure to take extra care when doing so to prevent any kind of danger or harm towards anyone participating in our opening sequence.

Here is the dress we are using in our opening sequence. We have linked this to our theme that the girl is 'innocent'. The bright blue colour shows childlike features. Also, the fact is is an out-dated dress implies to the audience she has been dead for many years. 

We also aim to put some blood on her prop which is a teddy bear, to add an extra gory effect. The use of the teddy bear shows she is young and innocent, and in need of comfort/love. 

 

Location and Casting Shot

Here are some shots we like of Pickhurst Recreation grounds. This is where we plan to film our opening sequence. We chose this area due to it's large field and tree-infested woods. It's a big open space in which we can get plenty of shots from. It also has a small forest behind the field. We like this because we can then show the girl being hung in the woods. It is the perfect location for our planned opening sequence. 

Below are some casting shots of Izzie Lattimore, who is playing the victim in our opening sequence. We chose Izzie as she is a keen drama student. She also studies film which means she understands her purpose. We know she is very reliable and can easily portray the character we want and being realistic. Izzie also does photography and understand camera work and framing. 

Below is a casting shot of Emma Winn, who is acting out the part of the little girl in our opening sequence. Emma also enjoys drama. She has been in several school plays. She is young, with blond hair, portraying  the innocent, naive girl we want. Her face is quite plain, meaning we can add tour make up easily to her. Emma is a very keen art student. This means she is understanding to having talcum powder on her face and fake blood on her neck to create the desired effect. 

Feedback Part 2

Amanda:
I have now updated 'The Shining'. 

Clare:
I will change my 'The Woman In Black' video into a collage of all the shots. 

We are happy with our feedback once again. We feel our progress has increased well. We hope to continue this good work with filming during half term. We plan to create an animated storyboard to demonstrate the intended length of the shots, to discover how long our opening sequence will be. 

Detailed Study of the Structure of an Opening Sequence

Clare: Above is my dissection of the opening sequence to the film 'The Woman In Black.' I have decided to present this close analysis by taking still images of the different shots and cuts from this opening sequence. I have done this to show the variation and number of shots within the opening.

Unfortunately, my video has been blocked from YouTube, so instead I decided to create a collage of all the shots in order, so we have an idea of the number of shots within the opening sequence to 'The Woman In Black.'

Amanda: Below is a slideshow of all the credits/shots of the opening sequence to the film 'The Shining.' I have taken shots of all of the credits shown and the shots. However, in this film there are only a few shots being zoomed. We don't want this as it isn't dramatic. However, the credits rolling up the screen is similar to what we want. 

I think we should include more credits instead of just names. We think our credits will be;

• Emma Winn
• Izzie Lattimore 
• Produced By
• Costume and Make Up 
• Edited By
• Music By
• Directed By

Final Storyboard

Here is our final storyboard for our opening sequence which we made by comparing both our drafts and mixing our shared ideas. Overall, we produced a storyboard that we were both equally happy with and which we had both put equal input.

Draft Storyboards

We have decided to individually create two storyboards as drafts for our real one, because we thought it would be better for us to both visually represent our ideas and then merge them together as one piece. Also, it means there is a shared input and we can make a better outcome whilst filming. 

Clare: 

Amanda: