A Level Creative Critical Reflection

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A Level Promotional Package

Poster:

Trailers: 

Website: 

  http://marianas96.wix.com/leslierepeated

Filming & Research

I will begin filming tomorrow afternoon with my friend who has agreed to be the main character. My main character is a girl overcoming her OCD and I'll be filming portions of her day, like for example, when she wakes up and has to turn the light on and off eight times. The trailers will show her frustration with this disorder and how to deal with her anxiety.

I did research on OCD to learn a bit more before starting to film to ensure that it is a disorder that can be treatable with hard work. I also found out that the OCD trick is that "you experience doubt, but respond as if it's danger."

I also found two articles that contained schedules of what a normal day of someone with OCD would be like and I will base the clips for my trailers off of those.

Film Promotion Package

For the promotional package the two trailers will be about a story of a girl overcoming a problem. The trailers will show portions of her life and the struggles she has to endure and the trailers will differ a bit to attract different audience members. 

The website I am creating will be done on wix because it provides templates that make it simple to create a website. I will also be creating the poster on Google Slides because that is what I used to make my production page for the opening film and found it to be convenient. The poster will contain an image of the main character with the title at the top. 

AS Level Film Opening

Critical Reflection

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Sasso Productions

The short film starts off with an image that I created on Google Slides with Shape. After saving the image and uploading it to iMovie I also used a sound effect from iMovie. All sounds in the movie that were not made by filming are from iMovie.

Filming

I have began filming and took various shots so that when I would being editing I would have some variety to choose from and different perspectives. After filming the same scenes a few times I uploaded the videos on my computer so I could begin to edit. I have clips of what was filmed in the garage but this weekend I will film the hallway scene. That has to be done late in the afternoon so that I could use the natural light without it being to bright inside.


Also, I am still not sure what to use as a title so I will begin to think of ideas. I am not using any music but I might be using some of the sounds that are available on iMovie.

Addition

After doing a run through of the script I decided that it would be a short amount of film to work with so I will be adding more. The film opening will start by going through a hallway that ends at a half opened door. The room will be very dim and as the camera gets closer to the door the screen will go black and the title will appear. After the title fades away the film will get straight to the point to show that is going to be about a kidnapping.

I was going to begin filming this Thursday because my friend was going to play the role of the main character but because of unforeseen circumstances she will be unable to so with the help of my sister I will begin tomorrow. I'll be using my iPhone to film and then uploading the videos on iMovie to edit.

Script

This is a rough draft of the script I'm going to be using.

Setting Garage: Dim lighting 

Zoom into girl's face, makeup smeared, looks scared. She beings to talk:

Girl: Mom, dad...I'm okay. They took me when I was walking home yesterday. They said that they want half a million or you'll never see me again. 

As she continues to talk the camera zooms out and begins to pan around the room, focuses on the camera the kidnapper is holding up, the zip ties/rope around the girl's hands, and the conditions of the room.

Girl (continued): ...they will be contacting you soon about the location where the exchange will occur. 

Throughout the entire scene, credits will appear on screen while the events continue. The important characters, directors, etc. and the title will be shown. 

Sounds that will be heard: Nervous breathing, feet shuffling, the chair squeaking. 

I'll be following the script while I film but I might be adding more or I could possibly make some slight changes. 

How to start

I have began to plan out the script for the beginning of the opening so that I can begin filming next week. Because I am doing the promotional package I will be using parts of the ransom video in the trailers and include flashbacks to the actual kidnapping along with key events.

Since I am filming this with my iPhone and editing on iMovie, I researched ways to get special effects on iMovie such as "aged film", "sepia", etc.  to add depth to the ransom part of the video, since it is supposed to appear to be filmed from a different camera.

I decided that to start off in an intense and dramatic way the first thing that will appear on the screen is going to be the girl's face as she begins talking. Then the camera I'm using to film will begin to pan and zoom in and out around the room to establish the scene.

Beginning

Since watching the trailer for the film The Disappearance of Alice Creed gave me an idea for how to start I began to plan out the film opening.  Because I'm doing a film on a kidnapping, I'll begin the film opening with the ransom video. I'll most likely be filming this in my garage because of the dim lighting and the cement floor. What I envision is to have a camera on a tripod put in the middle of the garage with a chair in front of it where the actress will sit. As the opening credits are displayed I'll be showing the scenario by zooming into details, like the tarp on the floor or her shaking hands. Then when the actual ransom video begins it'll be shown from the camera set up on the tripod. I'll begin filming next week and my friend will be playing the main character. The filming will be done on my iPhone camera and I am going to use iMovie to edit and put the short film together.

I think that starting with the ransom video will engage the audience because it'll begin in a captivating way. The audience will be curious as to who the girl is and if she will survive.

Groups- Input

Today we got the opportunity to talk in groups again and listening to other ideas and getting input on my own project was helpful. When I told the group about the film being about a kidnapping and the opening starting with the end of the film they all liked the idea, but they also helped me expand it. Some of them thought that it would be a good idea to have the characters be a typical family that you would not expect to have kidnapped a young child and that the child is unaware. One of the members of the group also suggested to not start with and ending that would give the story away, like the victim being rescued, which was something I had not considered and now will.

They also suggested some movies that I could watch to get ideas from and I looked up the trailer for the film, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, and the beginning of the trailer is similar to how I want the film opening to be displayed.

Planning

After deciding to make my film based on a kidnapping I began to plan out the opening. I have been thinking about starting the film opening at the end of the story but because that is difficult to display it requires much planning. Today I wrote down ideas for the scenes and worked on a story board to get an idea of how to begin.

Story Board:

I also watched some film/TV openings and clips:

 

I am going to begin working on a script once I decide how to start the film opening. 

Although I am pretty positive this film will be a thriller about a kidnapping I am still unsure as how to begin and I will ask for input at the next group meeting  this week. 

Groups- Expanding ideas

Today I got an opportunity to meet with a group and we discussed our ideas and gave feedback. Since I decided on making my new fictional film a thriller I told them my ideas and after we discussed the pros and cons of each idea I choose the topic of the film to be about a kidnapping. Because the opening can only be two minutes I am going to write out a script and create a story board.

I want the film opening to be captivating so it'll begin by establishing the setting of the the dark, messy house until the camera stops at a small figure huddled in a corner of one of the rooms. While this is happening police sirens will be heard getting louder and louder until the screen goes dark and a news report can be heard, discussing that the main character who had gone missing has now been found. The credits will be shown while the setting is being shown and the title of the film will appear when the screen gets dark right before the newscast begins.

I used the opening of the film, Children of Men, for inspiration.

Beginning the research

For the film opening I have been watching many different film openings to get ideas. Most of my ideas for the film opening have been about creating a new thriller fictional movie and once I can decided on an idea I will be creating a story board.

For inspiration and ideas I watched film openings on http://www.film.com/movies/best-opening-scenes-movies and looked up thriller movies, such as The Silence of the Lambs and Shutter Island.

Since I'm going to be doing a promotional package I'll be using the same idea as the film opening to create the two trailers, that way I can also use some of the same footage for all the videos.

I will be recording the film opening with my iPhone camera and creating it on iMovie.