TopHat Final Cut 1

please leave feedback.

Group: TopHat Rough Cut

HM:Reflection on Shoot 2

1.  When and where was the shoot?

• The shoot was carried out on the 11th of January at Hamish's house.

2. What scenes were you focusing on?

• Linking end scene and dream kitchen sequence in which we aimed to portray the supernatural nature of tophat.

 3. What was your individual contribution to the shoot?

• Many shots including the panning steadicam longboard shot and the low angle and toaster shot. I also did a reaction shot as me as the psychiatrist. 

 4. To what extent did your storyboard affect your use of camera and framing?

• In our developed storyboard we aimed to use more close ups and reaction shots which we did and utilised effectively. We also included and developed some more scenes in which was not part of our storyboard.

5. What do you think worked particularly well?

• During our shoot, we experimented putting me on a Long board and having me in front of the actors filming behind me. Low angle still shots and close ups also worked particularly well.  

6. What were the challenges of this particular shoot?

• The challenges we found with this shoot was getting the tripod and camera set up in the correct position with which to film from. This was due to the nature of the house in not being able to frame the shots precisely as we wanted.  

 

 

AN: Reflection on Shoot 2

When and where was the shoot?

• The shoot took place at Hamish's house on Saturday 14th January 2015

What scenes were you focusing on?

• Our main focuses were around the chase scene and the build up to it. We decided that the best way to approach this scene was by re-shooting the opening of the scene where Jack chases the chases down the stairs and out of the house by going for multiple and lower angles utilising more of the space we had available. We then decided that for the main part of the chase outside that we would get another perspective looking from the front as Jack and Dan run down the street to help vary the shot.
  
• There were two other scenes we decided to otherwise modify being the kitchen scene, where we decided to once again get multiple angles as well as tweak the reasoning around the scene moving from a coughing fit to a phone call, and the psychiatrist scene, where we got some close ups of Hamish on the scene to show his reaction to Dan's account of what's been happening to him.
• From feedback we  received when putting the clips together we have added another scene where Dan is woken from a nightmare by Tophat.

What was your individual contribution to the shoot?

• On this shoot i took role in the setup of shots thinking about possible angles and timing as well as suggesting how the scenes play out as well as shooting some of the shots.

To what extent did your storyboard affect your use of camera and framing?

• Most of the shots we got in the second shoot were based on feedback and ideas whilst editing and as a result the storyboard played a minor role in the second shoot.

What do you think worked particularly well?

• Once again the moving shot on the longboard worked effectively and came out smoothly and should hopefully inter cut well with the footage from the first shoot.
• The new angles for the stair scene work more effectively than the original shot and will most likely be used in the final piece.

What were the challenges with this particular shoot?

• As this shoot took place two weeks after the previous one, continuity was a key issue for us. Over the course of the shoot we consulted our earlier footage and did our best to make the scenes as consistent as possible between each.

How will you use this experience to inform your next shoot?

• We are fairly certain at this point that all the footage we need has been recorded so we won't need to do another one, however this shoot has helped us work out some of the difficulties with keeping the continuity of each shot consistent as we tackle each shoot, as well as the furthering of our understanding and ability of the setting up of shots.

J.D Reflection On Shoot 2

1.  When and where was the shoot?

• The shoot was at Hamish's house on the 24th of January 2015, (two weeks after the first shoot).

2. What scenes were you focusing on?

• The scenes which we needed to focus on during this shoot were the chase scene because we had a following shot, but no in front shots, meaning the scene became very long and unbroken, with these new shots we will cut up the chase into smaller cuts.
• we also needed to focus on getting reaction shots for the original 'psychiatrist' scene, mainly of the psychiatrist's face, as dialogue would be broken if we cut up the shot of the protagonist.
• We also had a dire need to re-shoot the kitchen scene as the coughing fit was unprompted and necessary, it was also far too long so it required shortening, or having a faster cutting rate.
• The stair scene also required a re-shoot as it became apparent at the time of editing that the camera was neither level or positioned correctly, we also took this opportunity to take a larger variation of angled shots, to give the scene a faster cutting rate.

 3. What was your individual contribution to the shoot?

• My role during the shoot was varied, for the stair scene and chase scene I was, as before, required to act (playing the antagonist, TopHat) however I played a major role in camera work, as I helped decide both the positioning and angle of the camera. I was also the stedicam controller, which was used for both kitchen scene and psychiatrist scene. 

 4. To what extent did your storyboard affect your use of camera and framing?

• The story board played a minor part in this second shoot, as by now we had moved on from the use of the story board, as a large portion of the story was already changed in the first shoot, so we were working on a different timeline to the storyboard. 

5. What do you think worked particularly well?

•  once again we used a longboard during the chase scene shoot, however this time we had the camera facing backwards with our camera man facing forward, meaning it is a smoother ride, because there is focus on keeping the longboard smooth, rather than focussing on only the camera, we also used a pull focus on the note in the kitchen scene which worked well as it creates a build up to finding out what is written on the note.

6. What were the challenges of this particular shoot

• There was a pressure on us during this shoot to keep the continuity between two shoots, as the shoots were 2 weeks apart, obviously things change meaning, we had a great deal of time spent referring back to the old footage to make sure that everything we did was I keeping with the other shoot. 

7. How will you use this experience to inform your next shoot?

• we have all the footage we need so the likelihood of another shot is minimal, but if we were to take something away from the shoots I would say we have discovered that more angles and a faster cutting rate is better than a long running shot in some circumstances as it keeps the audience engaged.

 Above: An on set discussion on the possible locations of the camera for the 'stair scene'

Above: Image showing my location on set, before the jump scare on the stairs before I drop down behind an unsuspecting protagonist, Allen Daniels (portrayed by Daniel Allen)

Above: Image showing our camera man, Hamish, on the long board filming the chase scene, as you can see the camera is held out to his right, as the actors run behind, and he focusses on keeping a straight line.

 

J.D Reflection on Shoot

1.  When and where was the shoot?

• The shoot was carried out on the 11th of January at Hamish's house.

2. What scenes were you focusing on?

• the main focus of our work during this shoot was to get the main shots completed, to act as a scaffold to build the rest of the shots on. These building blocks will be, the final chase scene, the scene of the psychiatrist entering the house. The psychiatrist shot is important, because this acts to trigger the premonitions which make up the majority of the opening. 
  

 3. What was your individual contribution to the shoot?

• my activities during the shot were to act (TopHat) as the antagonist, I also played an important role in that I helped position and control the camera. Often I was the main controller of the stedicam, as I was able to keep the camera steady. I also had direct contact with Dan the actor playing the protagonist (Allen Daniels) as I aided him in dialogue and actions, by coordinating his role. 
  

 4. To what extent did your storyboard affect your use of camera and framing?

• Our story board was an effective starting point for our day of filming, as it gave us the base shots that we knew we would need. however our approach to the filming became more free as the day progressed, as we came up with new shots which had previously not been identified.
  

5. What do you think worked particularly well?

• During our shoot, we experimented putting our camera man on a Long board and having him follow us at speed, this meant that due to the large wheels on the board the shot was remarkable smooth and allowed us to have a shot that has been unmatched as no track and dolly which we have access to is long enough or smooth enough, the lack of track also meant that no track or rail had to be in shot.
  

6. What were the challenges of this particular shoot?

• Our Location caused particular problems with regards to our shadows and reflections being in shot, this was caused by the direction of the sun in relation to the camera, which is unavoidable, however we have managed to combat this by use of editing. The tripods were also found to be too cumbersome and we ended up deferring to use a stedicam. 
  

 

7. How will you use this experience to inform your next shoot?

• During this shot we have discovered new angles which we would previously not have used. this means in the coming shoots we will have a broader scope of ideas to use. it is also now visible that sometimes the simplest solution is the best (longboard tracking) and we should avoid over complicating things.
  

 

AN: Horror Opening Progress Report

Filming

• Our first shoot proved productive and has helped form a good base to work from however since our first shoot we have been unable to organise a second and as such will be running on a tighter schedule over the next couple of weeks.
• Our next shoot will most likely be planned for some point at the weekend from current schedules due to restraints caused by necessary lighting making it harder to organise to film after school however it is still a possibility depending on whether or not our lead actor is available.
• The scenes we need to re-shoot will be some reaction shots for the psychiatrist (Hamish) whilst he's speaking to Allen (Dan) on the sofa, we will also need to re-shoot the first of the "premonitions" as the coughing fit is slightly too long and Dan runs away at the end of the scene too rapidly making it feel a little unbelievable.
• A key thing which needs to be added for most of our scenes is more angles as most of the scenes are based around single continuous shots, this is especially apparent with our chase scene at the end as it ends up feeling more funny than tense so needs more angles to vary up the chase.

Editing

• The footage we have has been suitably ordered and cut and presents the film's plot line proficiently until extra footage can be added. 
• The order of the titles have been chosen and have begun to be added with placement and lack of footage proving the key problems with the assembly of the titles in the opening. The fonts for both the Film's titles and people's roles have been selected and will be used when added onto the school system.
• Thanks to the use of the editing tools available we have been able to avoid re-shoots for some scene by overlaying footage and tweaking lighting and contrast to fit more with the other shots.
• Sound effects and music are being added to the scene with a focus on ambient sound and trying to keep audio spikes sparse to try and build tension more effectively.

HM: Task 15 Analysis of Title Sequence, Shutter Island(2010, Scorcese)

Order of titles and duration

• 0:02, A film by Martin Scorsese
• 0:05 Produced by Micke Medavoy Arnold Messer
• 0:10 Screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis
• 0:12 Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane
• 0:17 Director of photography Robert Richardson
• 0:27 Ben Kingsley
• 0:31 Leonardo Dicaprio
• 0:37 Mark Buffalo
• 0:42 Edited by Thelma Schoonmaker
• 0:47 Music by Robbie Robertson
• 0:57 Shutter Island

Typography Analysis

• All writing is in block capitals which denotes the bright colour of red and the large visually clear and imposing block capitals.
• The connotation however in this context could mean blood and violence for red. Block capitals could connote a serious plot and add gravitas to the situation in the film. Also The text is sharp and angular which could connote a knife and weapon.
•  The first writing is in red which enhances the previous connotation and could be perceived as blood. The writing is all placed in different sections of the screen but never central until the title of the film is shown.
•  This could connote the fact that the plot may be unexpected and twist in places. The writing is all the same size apart from the film title which is larger and in red. The meaning derived from this extremely clear in many senses.
•  For example the name Shutter Island, can give clues to what the film could be about. Island could connote isolation and entrapment.
•  Shutter connotes trying to keep something out or in. The reason for much meaning being drawn from the film title is due to the large red font in centred in the screen making it significant.

Relationship between text and visuals

• The style of the opening titles are portraying the film. For example most of the shorts are in low light such as a dark house or cell. This links with the block capitals to add horror atmosphere within the title sequence. This prepares the audience for a horror film and possibly gory due to the chains and red writing. Institutional context could relate to a cell so as to confine someone who is potentially dangerous to society.  
• All pointers suggest this film to be confining someone such as the tracking shot going into the entrance of the prison.
• This suggests they will be the antagonist as I know from the rest of the film this theory is flipped on its head. This therefore gives off a different enigma to what the outcome of the film is.

 

How can we use these Ideas

The title sequence sets up the film and suggests particular traits and sets that could appear on the scene. We could use this to our advantage by giving off the correct enigma of the film by changing the font and placement of the opening title. We can do this by changing the pace and variety of shots to build suspense.

   

AN: Analysis of Title Sequence: Se7en (Fincher, 1995)

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/se7en/

Order of Titles

0:02-0:05 'New Line Cinema Presents'

0:06-0:08 'An Arnold Kopelson production'

0:10-0:12 'A film by David Fincher'

0:14-0:16 'Brad Pitt'

0:18-0:20 'Morgan Freeman'

0:23-0:27 'Se7en'

0:29-0:31 'Gwyneth Paltrow'

0:33-0:35 'Richard Roundtree'

0:38-0:39 'R. Lee Ermey'

0:41-0:42 'John C. McGinley'

0:46-0:48 'Julie Araskog  Mark Boon Junior'

0:54-0:56 'John Cassini  Reginald E. Cathey  Peter Crombie'

0:57-1:00 'Hawthorne James  Michael Massee Leland Orser'

1:04-1:07 'Richard Partnow  Richard Schiff  Pamala Tyson'

1:10-1:13 'Casting by Billy Hopkins  Suzanne Smith  Kerry Borden'

1:16-1:18 'Music by Howard Shore'

1:22-1:23 'Costumes designed by Michael Kaplan'

1:24-1:25 'Edited by Richard Francis-Bruce'

1:26-1:27 'Production designed by Arthur Max'

1:34-1:36 'Director of photography Darius Khondji'

1:40-1:42 'Co-producers Stephen Brown  Nana Greenwald  Sanford Panitch'

1:43-1:45 'Co-executive producers Lynn Harris Richard Saperstein'

1:50-1:52 'Executive producers Gianni Nunnari  Dan Kolsrud  Anne Kopelson'

1:53-1:54 'Written by Andrew Kevin Walker'

1:57-1:57 'Se7en'

1:59-2:00 'Produced by Arnold Kopelson  Phyllis Garlyle'

2:04-2:06 'Directed by David Fincher'

Analysis of the Typography

The typography used in the title sequence of Se7en is a combination of scrawled handwriting and typewriter lettering. The typewriter font is used for descriptions of the people's roles e.g. 'Director of photography' and the main title, whilst the handwriting is use for the names of the actors and crew. Most of the titles are shown on a dark screen with seemingly random placement for each title; titles which are superimposed on shots though are more thought about generally being placed towards the darker areas of the shot out of the way of the main detail. All of the typography is written in white and is animated to flicker around the screen generally in small jumps with less regular large jumps on repeated or extended screen time titles.

Relationship between Text and Visuals

the visuals show close up images of a man meticulously preparing notes and hints at planning something. The typography then conjures up associations with traditional psychopaths in films i.e. meticulous, calculating and obsessive. The jumpiness of both the visual and the typography also connotes the killer's insanity, whilst the bible texts occasionally flashed up in between titles suggest religious fanaticism. The title sequence shows how through the right use of imagery and typography you can connote significant ideas around the antagonist of the film whilst still sustaining the enigma the film presents however it does this subtly and doesn't just shout it in the audience's face.

Use in our Concept

The title sequence for se7en has made me consider how we can use titles to suggest traits and motives of the film's antagonist without just telling the audience which can make the film more suspenseful and engaging as a result.

HM: Reflection on shoot 1

when and where?

•  Woodlands Hever at my house.
• We started filming at 10:30 and finished at 4:30

What scenes were we focusing on?

We focused on all the scenes we could manage. Especially the psychiatrist and chase scenes. WE feel as a group that all scenes were covered but may need some more angles to incorporate more continuity into our opening scene.

What was my individual role in the shoot?

I acted as the psychiatrist who attempts to get to the root of Allen Daniels fears and problems. I also shot many of the scenes such as the chase scene dark scenes and part of the opening scene.

To what extent did your storyboard affect your camera and framing?

The storyboard gave us a very rough guideline of where to position the shot in the frame but not the angle.

What do I think work particularly well?

The dolly steadicam shot with the skateboard I felt went very successfully. I also felt some of the acting and storyline was clear and that we really captured those elements and ran away with them.

What challenges did you come across?

Camera angles in keeping reflections of people out of the shot and continuity in the filming while keeping it continuous.

How are we going to use this to influence our next shoot?

We are going to use lots of filler shots such as short reaction shots to portray the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Also to create a sense of continuity.

 

AN: Reflection on Shoot

1. When and where was the shoot?

We did the shoot at Hamish's house on Sunday 11th January.

2. What scenes were you focusing on?

Our main focus for the shoot was to get the base of our opening scene filmed so that we are able to lay out our scene and work out what's going where chronologically.

3. What was your individual contribution to the shoot?

I helped set up, coordinate and record the shots over the course of the day as i have no acting roles in our opening scene meaning my focus in the group is towards behind the camera roles.

4. To what extent did your storyboard affect your use of camera and framing?

The storyboard helped layout what we wanted to have recorded and where, however we approached the shoot more freely and work around the location as some factors weren't taken into account when initially drawing up the storyboard.

5. What do you think worked particularly well?

We were able to improvise a surprisingly smooth dolly for a dolly shot of the house using a few planks of wood, some bricks and a longboard. The longboard also came in useful when filming a chase scene as Hamish was able to follow the protagonist and antagonist as they ran down the road whilst keeping a smooth shot.

6. What were the challenges of this particular shoot?

We had particular problems with our shadows/ reflections being in the shot, as well as problems with camera placement as sometimes the rooms were compact and the tripod would be too large to setup or get in the way etc.

7. How will you use this experience to inform your next shoot?

This shoot has allowed us to work out more angles that we can take for the scene as well as help highlight particular areas we hadn't thought about originally when doing the first shoot.

J.D: Looking At a Title Sequence

Order and Duration of Titles-
 
The title of the movie (alien) slowly begins to appear at the very beginning of the sequence, it begins to appear section by section as the camera pans around, or rather orbits around a planet. it takes the full duration of the sequence for the title to be fully formed and to display "ALIEN"

The Titles Which Are Shown Are:
In This Order:

• "a Brandywine - Ronald Shusett production"
• "a Ridley Scott film"
• "Tom Skerritt"
• "Sigourney Weaver"
• "Veronica Cartwright"
• "Harry Dean Stanton"
• "John Hurt"
• "Ian Holm"
• "Ian Yaphet Kotto as Parker"
• "music by Jerry Goldsmith/conducted by Lionel Newman/original music copyright 1979 Fox Fanfare Music Inc" 
• "executive producer Ronald Shusett" 
• "screenplay by Dan O'Bannon/story by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett"
• "produced by Gordon Carroll/David Giler/and/Walter Hill"
• "directed by Ridley Scott"

HM: Planning shoots

Shoot Times

• Sunday 11th January from 10am onwards

Equipment Needed

• Camera frame booked with Mr Fiveash
• Tripods booked with Mr Fiveash possibly 2

People required

• Alex Newbold (cinematographer)
• Jack Day (Actor)
• Hamish Maslen (Director), (Actor)
• Daniel Allen (Actor)

week 1 (after christmas) Targets

Hamish:
Hamish will be looking at the logistics of the shots, this is appropriate as it is his house we are filming in, therefore it makes sense as he has immediate acces.

Alex:
Alex will be researching the Title research and planning, as well as writing the feedback on his pitch.

Jack:
I will be doing the Animatic and story boarding, as well as doing the research into sound design for the clip/film.

JD Audience Research Evaluation

Our First question looked at the importance of having a murder happen in the opening sequence of a murder film. We received a varied response from this question; with answers ranging from 1 (not important) to 7 (important) however the average we got in the end was 4.67, this is fairly central in regards to the results we received, this is good for us, as it means that out choice of having all the build up to a murder, and the depiction of the seconds before the murder takes place, should satisfy both ends of the spectrum in regards to this topic.

Our next question looks at the importance for gore in  the opening sequence of a horror film; the answers to this question showed a general trend that gore would be welcome in the opening, with over half of the questionnaires showing a5 or above answer (important to very important) this fits in with our opening well, as we plan on having a montage of the protagonist being bullied until the point of break down until he is 'taken' by the antagonist and shown to be bloodied and we see a knife enter his chest, giving the opening gore and a sense of slasher horror.

Our next set of questions was in regards to the look and personality of our antagonist 'TopHat'. when asked if he should be sharp or scruffy, nearly all the answers said he should be sharp which means our choice of having him wear a smart suit fits well, as does his top hat, as it gives him the appearance of a sharp, well dressed gentleman.
Our next question asked whether the antagonist should be clever or simple the overwhelming response was that he should be clever. Once again this fits the profile of TopHat perfectly; as he is someone capable of playing mindgames, and also skilled enough to conceal himself within someone elses house without being found.
The next question was to question the sanity of the antagonist, Ie. whether he should be calm or mad, the general response was that he should seem to be mad, it could be said that this both fits and does not fit our antagonist, as we want him to seem calm, however we want him to have some aspects much like those of the Joker in Batman, where he seems calculating but also completely mad.
The last of this set of questions regards the speed of the antagonist, so how fast his wit seems etc, all the responses we receive said that he should be fast, which again fits with out Joker appearance, as he should have a sharp and calculating mind.

The next question was asking whether sound in the clip should be prominent or quiet. in this we received a huge range in the responses, when the results were amalgamated the average came out as 2.67, pretty much dead centre, meaning sound could go either way, however there is 0.17 over central which puts us closer toward prominent music, so we plan to make the music prominent over the top of the flash-forwards, however much quieter during all other aspects of the clip.

The final question in the questionnaire asked audience members whether or not nursery rhymes where scary in horror. 77.78% said yes whilst only 22.22% said no. meaning audiences would like that to be incorporated, so to please audiences we should probably look to overlay some classic nursery rhymes, eg. ringa ringa roses.

In Conclusion we can clearly see that our chosen genre and our antagonist fit well with what the audience members deem appropriate. due to the appropriate personality of the antagonist, and how he fits into the slasher genre that we have chosen. however the questionnaire has shown us points which we need to change such as the  prominence of the sound track, and indeed what we use for the soundtrack (nursery rhymes)

AN: Target Audience Questionnaire Results

The questionnaire was answered by 10 participants from our target audience of teenagers in the core audience across both genders; however one questionnaire that was handed out wasn't returned and we have been unable to track it down.

The first question we on the questionnaire was "how important is murder in a horror film?" which required the person to rate it's importance on a scale from 1 to 10; the question returned an average of 4.67 with a varied range with the lowest being 1 (not important) and the highest being 7 (quite important). The most common pair of results returned for this question were 5 and 7 receiving three answers each suggesting that our audience prefers some form of murder to establish the film whilst a majority find it not entirely crucial.

The second question asked the participant about "the importance of gore in a horror opening" over a range of 1 to 10; averaged out the results came to exactly 5 with the highest being 8 (important) and the lowest being 1 (not important). the two most common answers were 4 and 7 which each had two answers. these results tell us that the audience for our film are varied in their opinions of gore in a horror opening with some people finding it an important aspect whilst other find it an unnecessary addition; the average opinion suggests that it will not be a detriment to our film as to whether or not we choose to use gore to our opening or not.

The third question gave a range of possible locations for a psychopathic slasher (forest, old/ abandoned building, church, normal house) and asked participants to rank the possible locations. results for this questionnaire also varied however a majority of respondents ranked old/ abandoned buildings and normal houses at 1 or 2 . a normal house received 3 rank 1 responses, this is also true for the old/ abandoned building location; church only received one rank 1 result with forest claiming the last two possible rank 1 answers. The results indicate that the most popular settings we could use would be either an old building or normal house. Our current location of choice is Hamish's house, and based on the results we can either choose to keep it as a normal house or dress it up to appear old/ abandoned.

Question 4 gave a selection of aspects of horror antagonists to rate with the options being: sharp or scruffy, clever or simple, calm or mad, slow or fast this allows us to gauge how we can construct the personality of our antagonist. The first pair returned an average of 1.89 showing with no results being higher than 3, this indicates that the audience prefer a sharper dressed antagonist to a scruffy one. the second pair returned an average of 1.22 showing a very strong reception for a clever antagonist as opposed to a simple minded killer. The third pair gave an average of 2.78 suggesting an indifference to the patience of the antagonist however there is a slight majority preferring a calm and calculating antagonist to a madder one. The fourth pair of results suggests further indifference in reaction to the actions of the antagonist with an average of 3.89. this gives an indication that the audience likes a fast moving antagonist who moves in for the kill efficiently instead of slowly building to their goals.

We then questioned audiences on their opinion of the use of sound design in horror openings by asking them which type of design they preferred either a quiet or a prominent approach with 1 being quiet and 10 being prominent. The results show a preference to quieter sound in an opening with an average of 2.67 and no answers being higher than 5. This informs us that a quieter approach to sound may be more positively received.

Question 6 asked whether or not the participant considered the use of nursery rhymes in horror scary or not, this was used to find out whether or not we could use some form of familiar imagery/ sound in the opening to make the opening more creepy e.g. fairground music. The results show that 78% of the people who answered felt they were whilst 22% felt they were not. this indicates that nursery rhymes and familiar imagery could be used to try and make our opening more sinister and creepy.

The last two questions were open questions asking what people look for in a horror opening and their favourite horror antagonist. For the first a popular response was that of using the opening to build tension and suspense and establishes the theme's of the film and it's antagonist, whilst some more generic results such as scariness suggests we made the question too broad. The second question had two recurring results of John Doe from Se7en and The Joker from the Dark Knight whilst the last results with the exception of one mentioned antagonists also associated with psychopaths meaning that the most popular style of villain for our piece will most likely be a psychopath.