Welcome to my production blog for Media Studies! I am currently studying at Harris Academy CTC. My production blog is to show off the years coursework and the amount of work produced throughout the year. I hope you enjoy it as much as i did making it! :)
The film will emphasise how a deep betrayal by a boyfriend can lead to a deep obsession, and how suppressed anger can spiral out of control, verging on a possible tragedy.
‘Behind Closed Doors’
Prepared by
Anika Rahman, Bethenay Longley, Licia Johnson, (and initially Daniel Andrews).
For
HarrisCrystalPalace, Media AS
Address
HarrisCityAcademyCrystalPalace
Maberley Road, London, SE19 2JH
It is proposed that the film opening will be of two minutes duration.
Locations It will be filmed at Beth's house in Penge, entirely in Beth's room, and edited at HarrisCrystalPalace.
Possible Limitations and Constraints
- Not being able to keep the cameras overnight means we will have to figure out ideal dates and times which will suit all of us. If one of us cannot make it, then filming would most likely be cancelled which would hold us back.
- The majority of the opening will be in Beth's room, so three people maneouvering around may be difficult.
- We are most likely not going to be using a tri-pod as there is not much space and we have not contemplated on tracking shots, so we will have to hold the camera steadily ourselves.
Our Initial film idea:
Daniel is Beth's ex-boyfriend who is now with Anika. Beth is distraught and her deep emotions are shown in the opening to the point where she would seem insane. 1) Credits roll with pictures in black and white of Daniel and Beth in happier times, then fade into pictures of Anika and Daniel in colour, where black and white represents the past and colour the present.
(2) Beth bumps into Anika on the road and they seem to be friendly. Anika has recently started dating Beth's ex-boyfriend and is asking her how she feels about it. Beth seems to be fine and understanding.
(3) A door shuts, Beth is seen in her bedroom, crying and angry, surrounded by ripped/scratched photos. She rings her best friend Licia for comfort and support.
(4) Licia is angered by Daniel's betrayal, but can she sit back and ignore it?
Unfortunately...
Daniel left due to personal reasons so he was replaced by Beth's real boyfriend George, and we had to drastically adapt our idea to ...
(1) We see Beth crying in her room. There are photos of her and her ex in her room.
(3) There are flashbacks of her and George in a happy relationship.
(4) She rips down the photos angrily, makes a 'potion' and runs out of her room with it. What is she planning?
Music
By initially having Daniel, who was very familiar with macs in our group, we thought we could produce our own music to go with our film. However, since his departure, Beth had a go at making her own music but we had to settle for a copywright free track as we were running out of time. (The music soundtrack is from a YouTube user who claims that the music is free for anyone to use.)
For the track we used Nitruzz - Strangers (R&B Instrumental).
Seeing as we decided to film at Beths house, it only seemed right for her to be the protagonist too. It was easy for her as there was nothing she was unfamiliar with, (with regards to setting) so she was able to be herself and act the best that she could. Also, she was most willing to be the actress as she offered.
Camera - Anika Rahman (Me)
I liked getting hold of and using all sorts of cameras, but this one was one i had never come across. However, my knowledge on cameras was pretty basic therefore found it easy to understand this similiar one. The only difference was it was very heavy!
Editor - Licia Johnson
Licia was able to adapt and get used to using the Mac before all of us, therefore we decided it would be best if she became our film editor.
Locations
Originally we thought of doing something drastic and brainstormed ideas about going to places such as Central London to film. However due to limitations and contraints, this prevented us from taking the cameras out after school hours and keeping them overnight. Also this would have been highly time consuming as we could film in areas closer to us without the need to travel so far. Finally, we decided the best place would be at Beths house, specifically her bedroom as it conforms to our changed storyline and she lives closer which would save us a lot of time.
Equipment / Props
Main equipment we will need are; > a camera to film,
> a phone for the shots where Licia calls Beth,
> a hammer-like object for when Beth is bashing the pills to make a ‘potion’.
Costumes
The clothing will be up to the personal decision of the actor and actress as we want a portrayal of realism in the film opening., we do not want it to look too set up and fake.
Shot List
Tracking shot into the room
Close up of Beth’s eyes
Close up of mouth (heavy breathing)
Close up of pictures on wall
Black and white shots of past
Coloured shots of the present
Birdseye view of beth falling on bed
She releases her inner anger out by dashing objects off the surface of a side drawer
Point of view of object being thrown towards camera or wide shot of room and a slammed door is left to end the scene (and end our film)
Storyboard for 'Behind Closed Doors'
Script for 'Behind Closed Doors'
Audience feedback so far on our pre-production ideas
“It sounds like it will be really good, can’t wait to see it”
“If I saw a trailer or heard about an insane girl wanting to kill her ex I would definitely want to watch it”
“The name ‘Behind Closed Doors’ is simple but still ambiguous and kind of threatening. It’s nice, I like it”
“You won’t be able to do much in just one room, maybe consider more than one location. But if you have really good ideas then go for it, it might turn out to be effective.”
These comments make our opening sound very promising, so we are sticking to our idea. We considered using more locations, as the last comment suggests, but the way we have planned and imagined our opening to be we think that we can make it work using a single location. It would also provide less hassle for us.
Licia managed to create a moodboard using prezi.com she says:
"I used these images to gather inspiration for our film, Behind Closed Doors. I created this moodboard on prezi.com because I have used it before so am rather familiar with it and it is a change from the usual format of a slideshow or A3 sheet of paper with pictures that you may see as a moodboard."
The pictures pertain to what our film may be about, i.e.
- the door being ajar symbolises the name 'Behind Closed Doors';
- the images of arguing is when Beth and George argue;
- the broken hearts represents how Beth would feel afterwards, broken hearted;
- the crying represents Beth crying over her ex-boyfriend.
Preferred film genre (the lower the total, the better response it received)
Horror/Thriller: 54
Comedy: 61
Action: 63
Drama: 68
Romance: 73
Sci-fi: 86 Average monthly cinema visits
< 1: 2
1-3: 13
4-6: 2
7-9: 3
Preferred film endings
Happy: 1
Sad: 3
Bit of both: 4
Cliffhanger:6
No preference:6
Encouragement to watch a film
Friends/family: 3
Film trailers: 14
Posters/advertisement: 2
Boredom: 1
Preferred film length (hours)
1-2: 11
2-3: 7
No preference: 2
Preferred film openings
In medias res: 2
Build up to action: 4
Suspense: 6
Twisted: 4
No preference: 4
Preference on how credits should be shown:
With sound: 10
During the scene: 9
No preference: 1
Preference on look of credits:
Animated, black and white: 6
Inanimated, black and white: 2
Animated and coloured: 10
Inanimated and coloured: 2
Our chosen target audience will be teenagers as we can relate to them and so we can incorporate conventions of thrillers which we like into our opening.
The result of the questionnaire came out as thrillers being the preferred genre, which is good as that is our genre.
Most recipients preferred cliffhanger for a good ending or did not mind how it ended. However, this does not pretain to our opening.
The most preferred opening is a suspenseful one. This tells us that our opening needs to use great techniques to grip our viewers into the film.
A sound/soundtrack being played whilst the credits are shown was the best preferred, closely followed by whilst the scene is being acted. There techniques are very different, but are both liked, so our group will need to decide wisely about which is best to create the desired atmosphere.
Finally, the preferred look of the credits is animation with colour, so we may utilise this information in our opening credits. Although, we have to keep in mind what will create the desired emotion in our viewers.
Originally, the genre of our film opening was going to be thriller, but seeing as the main character was going to be obsessed about her ex-boyfriend we wanted to do market research on films with an obsessed theme, but also has the codes and conventions of a thriller.
Prom Night
Prom Night, a 2008 horror film directed by Nelson McCormick, is about a teacher who is obsessed with his student and goes on a killing spree with the intent to find her and murder her. It is rated 15.
It is mainly horror, but by watching the trailer I can see codes and conventions of the thriller genre, for example:> tense music and screaming at approximately 0:50 - this creates an intense atmosphere and builds suspense in the viewer; > rapid cut-aways into darkness - gives a psychological response of the viewer being shocked; > the teenager conforms to a stereotypical representation of females in thrillers as she is represented as being weak and alone at 1:15, like a 'damsel in distress'. The different point of view shots at various angles show that she is being watched, this also builds suspense.
Opening of prom night
Mise-en-scene and credits – White writing credits and black background is shown before going into the scene. Starts off from the ocean to set a calm/relaxed mood. The writing is standard and average size which is legible to the audience. As the scene continues to play, following the car over the bridge, the opening credits still show until 02:29 where the music overlay stops too so we can begin to focus on the scene.
Sound -
Music Overlay (non- diagetic) an eerie, up tempo sound is played as the credits are shown. Opening sound lasts for 2mins 33secs. Dialogue is exchanged, gets straight into the action, the conversation held talks about “prom night” which is the title of the film. A continue shot reverse shot is shown during the conversation. Eerie music overlay restarts, which changes to a rapid, heart pounding tempo at 3:29 till 6:08 as she first discovers the murder of her brother.
Within the first five minutes we are hooked as an audience into the film opening. Although we find out it is a dream, it has drawn the audience in, which allows us to conclude on what a great impact the opening sequence has onto the rest of the film which we await to watch. These notes will help us when shooting our opening film sequence, and researching the trailer helps also as we could add elements from it.
Obsessed
Obsessed is a 2009 thriller directed by Steve Shill. We chose to research the opening of this because of the name.
A psychotic temp stalks a successful businessman, and only the man’s equally psychotic wife can stop her.The film raises the issue that sexual harassment in the workplace is not only directed towards women, but that men too can be victims.
Sound
It opens with a soundtrack with a beat that makes you feel optimistic, this subverts to a usual thriller opening. The soft vocals create a romantic atmosphere which links in to the couple we see, who we presume are in love. There is no dialogue and the music is played throughout until 2:34, this maintains the romantic atmosphere throughout the opening as dialogue would have interrupted this.
Mise-en-scene
The setting of a sunny day also subverts to a usual thriller. The credits appear whilst the scene is being played and there is a simple transition of a slow sliding motion to the left or right.
Shots
There is a one take where the camera tracks the characters movements until 1:06. There are a lot of two-shots so both of them are in the frame. High angle wide shot at 1:11. The slow tracking and eyeline shots of them looking at each other at about 1:35 suggests they are in love. Over-the-shoulder shot at 1:52. Low angle shot at 2:21.
SE7EN
Unlike 'Obsessed' this opening immediately makes the viewer know that it is a thriller.
Sound
From the beginning, the sound is very scratchy and distorted and there are wierd unrecognisable noises which all create a sense of mystery and bizarreness. A mixture of robotic and what sounds like squeaking is heard along with cranking. Eerie haunting noises are then heard. The beat increases in tempo at 1:12 and again at 1:34. As the song is finishing, the first and only lyrics we hear is "you got me closer to God".
Mise-en-scene
This opening begins with someone who is collecting information and cuttings and pictures of people. Pages of a book are being flipped. The rapid shifting of the position of the credits create a scratching effect which matches the same effect of the music playing, and the credits also sometimes brighten in colour then fade again. Credits appear both when the scene is playing and when there is just a black background, and they are not on a straight line to add to the disorientation. At 0:15 the character takes a razorblade and scrapes up skin off his finger, this immediately shocks and disgusts the viewer who wonders why they are doing that. Their fingers look cracked, blistered, dirty, and they are later bandaged which seems threatening. At 0:32 an effect is used to blurred the hand writing with a pen, so there is an illusion of too, this seems dizzying. Large scissors being used adds more threat. A pen is used to cross out a man's eyes in a picture and then completely scribble out his face, this seems demented and can be considered the actions of a wierdo. The word 'God' being cut out is connected with the lyrics "you got me closer to God" that is heard.
Shots
0:08 high angle shot of two hands. 0:10 onwards are extreme close ups of the person's hand doing various things but we hardly see what is happening, and point of view shots occur. 0:49 the silhouette of the hand and the pen emerging from behind the paper is rather ominous. There are cutaways from the action so the audience is unaware of what the character is actually doing. Thus mystery and threat is felt by us. The cutaways seem to get more rapid as the tempo speeds up.
VERTIGO
Sound
The opening to vertigo starts with an eerie, non-diagetic sound which creates an immediate suspense and atmosphere. The sound is exaggerated for when the credits are shown. As the music’s tempo turns up slightly, a spiralling effect is shown to elaborate the effect this has onto its audience. The title sequence continues throughout the first 3 minutes into the opening. The music then changes to a suspenseful, peculiar and rapid sound and sets us into the scene as we witness a man being chased on the roof top. A gun shot is heard, followed closely by another one which hooks the audience into thought and has successfully grabbed our attention which is what all films should do in their opening scene.
Credits The first credit is shown 9seconds into the film opening, with an exaggerated sound every time that a new name appears. The writing is in big, bold, white, capitals which is legible to those watching and stands out. Similarly, this had the same visual effect in Prom Night which shows that these films with the same genres are thought through thoroughly to have such an effect on the audience
Shots
A lot of close ups are and extreme close ups are used from the very beginning. An extreme close up of the face/mouth/eye conveys a deeper meaning as we can clearly see any expressions made. This shows emotion and the audience can interact with what is going on. We can use this as a great inspiration and attempt to use various close up shots where needed.
Codes and Conventions of a thriller:
Eerie Music- Music creates an intense atmosphere and gives us a sense of what the genre is and builds up tension.
Here we found a simple eerie sound which supports these conventions mentioned.
Dark lighting/setting - Thriller films are usually set in mysterious settings that are usually unpredictable and enigmatic for example the motel where Marion stays the night in Psycho. She is not familiar with the location and this creates an intense atmosphere.
Musis Video: we used the beginning of this music video as inspiration onto how our product should look like or should end up following some of these conventions. For example, we will try and use the black and white effect to represent the past and coloured for the present.
The first thing you can do before even starting to film or make a continutity sequence, is an idea. Any imagination or inspiration thoughts that came to us, we listed down as follows: First ideas:
Credits include pics of each couple.
After credits, there is a split screen of a phonecall between Beth and Licia.
Beth burns a picture of her and Daniel which fades into a flashback of a happy moment before the break-up.
Rapid cut back to ECU of Beth's face with mascara running.
Flashback of Beth and Daniel arguing.
Cut back to Beth.
Flashback of Beth watching Anika and Daniel.
Cut back to Beth. She's getting ready to go out and something tells the audience she's going to do something bad. At the front door she turns around and throws something at the camera and the screen shatters.
Summary of plot
Beth split up with Daniel, and he is now with Anika. Beth has become obsessed with Daniel and the opening shows the extent of her mentality and jealousy. Beth phones Licia for consolation, and Licia tries to calm her down. Licia, Beth and Anika used to be best friends, so Licia is furious at Anika's actions. In her temper, Licia murders Anika in her home, but everyone believes that it was Beth due to her insanity and the fact that Beth's bracelet which Licia burrowed was left at the scene. Beth is imprisoned, but only she knows that Licia did it as she remembered the loaned bracelet.
