PLANNING-Final Idea

Final Idea

Our final idea for our film opening is that it is going to be a thriller/horror. Our film opening will be a narrative film opening that will show an ambiguous serial killer ,who's face won't be revealed throughout the entire film opening, that pursues another teenage girl victim firstly online and then down the street from a party that she was at. The film opening ends when the serial killer is moments from catching the girl. 

At the beginning of the opening the serial killer is going to be established though a large amount of dark imagery to show his dark intentions and create a theme of murder, crime and also mystery as his identity will be withheld. The shots will be of him typing at his laptop, wrapping a knife in a cloth, putting on his jacket and gloves, pictures of his previous victims (defaced) on his wall above his computer. We are planing on a little light in our shots to create shadows to add to the tension we are trying to orchestrate from the opening, that is why we have planned to shoot these shots during the daytime within my bedroom as there will be daylight to use and that can be adjusted by my curtains. 

We also plan to use multiple jump cuts within this part of the opening to give a pacy start to the opening and to create a jumpy, tense atmosphere which is typical to the thriller genre. We also are planning on using Camtasia 2 to show the activities that he is doing on his laptop in spying on his victim on Facebook and seeing that she is at this party.

The second part of our opening will show the serial killer travelling to the party scene where the victim is located whilst also showing the victim leaving the party and making her way back home down a street. These two shots will ultimate come together into the same shot as the serial killer quickly approaches the victim when they will both turn into an alleyway where the tension will rise as the serial killer draws close to the girl and will end at a climax when the killer reaches for his victim. The crescendo of tension will really start building up at this point of the opening when the narrative starts to unfold and the inevitable is slowly revealing itself. It is important to really show this build up of tension strongly as it is essential in thrillers and especially our film opening to give the audience a dreaded feeling of anticipation of the horror events as that is what distinguishes the genre of thriller from horror.

We are planning on using little non-diegetic sound in the beginning of our film opening as we want to create an eerie atmosphere by having gaps of silence and also by creating a soundscape of diegetic sounds through the sounds of the typing of the keyboard, the clicking of the mouse, the clock ticking him grabbing the knife, him breathing, the rustling sounds of him getting ready to leave, him opening his door etc... We are planning to use foley sounds for these digetic sounds just so that they are enhanced  

PLANNING- Reaction and action on pitch feedback-Elijah

Reaction and action on pitch feedback

The main things that came from the feedback to our pitch is that the story and idea of our opening was good and strongly developed. However the logistics of the mise-en-scene and how we are going to get the props we need and the production schedule needed work and to be addressed in more detail to insure a smooth running shoot in order to get all the footage we need. We also need to plan out the logistics of the mise-en-scene and the production schedule because we need the really use the time we have efficiently rather than wasting time planning the props and costume and general mise-en-scene.

We are also having to adjust our idea in terms of the representation of the knife of the serial killer. We were planning to have a real knife and the serial killer wrap it in a piece of cloth that and show him put it in his pocket or just on his person and leave for his pursuit of the victim. In our feedback we were informed of the dangers of using a real knife and was advised to use a fake knife rather than a real one to avoid casualties.

We also were told in our feedback that the shot list for our opening should be completed to give a clear plan for the shots that are required and to also save time in the filming process allowing us to just film the shots with ease rather than wasting time trying to compose them on the day. 

PLANNING-The Pitch(7,8,9)-Elijah

7. Sound design

We are going to use more diegetic sound to build up the tension of the opening and there will be gaps of silence to create and eerie atmosphere and the music in the piece will be minimalistic but high pitched to give a chilling effect to the audience. However there will be a bit of music played in the background that will be a high-pitched that just add a chilling undertone. We will also dub a lot of the diegetic sounds for them to have more of an impact and create more of a building soundscape as the narrative progresses. there will be short hard impact sounds when a credit appears and a sound of typing as the animation of the words are being type. The music in the background will then increase in volume and intensity as the opening’s narrative comes to a climax when the serial killer is following his victim.

8. Mise-en-scene- Setting and locations

We are going to have a lot of jump cuts from locations to create a sense of tension in the audience and this is a convention in thriller films in creating a jumpy, tense atmosphere. These jump cuts will also keep a fast pace to the opening so it doesn’t drag and the audience is engaged and is immersed in the jumpy nature of the film. The jump cuts from the girl leaving the party and the psychopath killer preparing will consciously link the two together and give the audience a sense of dreaded expectation adding to the tense nature of the opening.

9. Mise-en-scene- Props, costume, make up etc.

The props are important in telling the narrative of the opening and shows the intend of the killer. The costume in our opening will also set the mood of the opening. The laptop is probably one of the most important of the props of the opening as it give the sense of stalking online and it is one of the main themes of the opening with the titles giving the sense of being typed. The costume of the serial killer is important as it has to be dark and showing he is getting ready to commit murder or a crime also it needs to show him as an ambiguous character that doesn’t reveal his identity and create a sense of mystery to the audience.

Storyboards- Savannah

The order of Title sequences- Savannah

The Shining Credits order

The Conjuring Credits order

Obsession- Order of Titles:

Production company Benjamin productions 
Distribution Company New Line Cinema 
Actors Elijah Hammond-Dallas as Dave
Savannah Benjamin as Mariah 
Title of Film Obsession
Casting By Raheem Bolenga
Costumes Designed By Sophine James
Music By Nigel Howard 
Editors Savannah Benjamin, Sabina Pushpa and Elijah Hammond-Dallas
Production Designer Ross Noble 
Director of Photography Savannah Benjamin 
Executive producers Tyrese Blackman David Jones Susan Redgrave
Written By Bob Redbridge 
Produced By Catherine James 
Directed By Sabina Pushpa Savannah Benjamin and Elijah Hammond-Dallas

PLANNING- My individual ideas on the film opening.

My individual ideas on the film opening.

I feel that our film opening will be a creepy, eerie feeling opening that shows a serial killer played by me ,but never truly viewing my face, track down and pursue another of his victims and just before he commits the crime the opening is over and the film begins.

I think that the opening should be in very dark light so probably filmed at night as it will add to the mysterious atmosphere that is typical in the thriller genre.

 I had an idea that I, the serial killer, should be in a car driving, following the girl as she started to walk down the road from the party, however I was made aware that this wasn't necessary for the narrative of the opening nor did it add to any tension that we were trying to build and wasn't feasible to get a car and film me driving it. This was also not really targeting at our audience as the majority of them wouldn't drive and we want them to relate to the characters and themes of the film.

I had another idea that the jump cuts would be of the girl within the house of the party rather than he just leaving the party however we found that this would take a number of other people in the background and a lot of sound which could also detract from the essential narrative of her being stalked which we wanted to be quite quiet and still at the progressively rise in sound and tension before the climax which signals the end of the opening.

PLANNING- The mise-en-scene- Props and Costume

The mise-en-scene- Props and Costume

The props are important in telling the narrative of the opening and shows the intend of the killer. The costume in our opening will also set the mood of the opening. The laptop is probably one of the most important of the props of the opening as it give the sense of stalking online and it is one of the main themes of the opening with the titles giving the sense of being typed. The costume of the serial killer is important as it has to be dark and showing he is getting ready to commit murder or a crime also it needs to show him as an ambiguous character that doesn’t reveal his identity and create a sense of mystery to the audience. 

Props
Computer/ laptop	The computer that the killer is going to use in his room to spy on the girl and to see that she is at the party on Facebook.
Victims images	These photos will be defaced and stuck up all around the wall and will have a red cross going through them.
Knife	Would be shown when the killer is in the car sharpening his knife as if he's ready to kill the girl when he sees her. Would get it from the kitchen.
Knife Sharpener	Would be used when the killer is sharpening his knife to show how he's getting ready giving the audience an idea of how he kills his victims. Would get it from the kitchen.
Empty bottle	Would get it from recycling. Would be used for the audience to see how the friend is drunk. Shown when the main character first leaves the house.
Car	Used for the killer to be following the main character without being seen in person.Would get it from a friend's older sibling or family member who drives and would allow it. Also used to show killer sharpening his knife inside.
Scarf	Shown at the very end of title sequence when the main character disappears and all that's left is the scarf on the ground. Would get this prop from home as it's at item of clothing. Also to show the audience how cold it is.
Phone	Used when main character is trying to call someone to pick her up but no one is picking up. Can get it from someone personal belongings. This would be seen when the main character is locked out the house and no one is picking up showing there's no other way of getting back in the house.

Costumes
Girl	Heels to echo when walking down the lonesome street echoing. Dress to show she's just came from a party. Also shows how innocent she is to the dark late night surroundings to seem vulnerable.
Killer	Wears dark clothes to give a mysterious and dark evil effect. Mask is to not give away identity. Gloves would be shown when character is sharpening weapons, also shows how he doesn't give away anything with finger prints.
Friend	In a party dress supposed to be seen as a reckless person who doesn't pay much attention

PLANNING- The mise-en-scene- Locations and Setting

The mise-en-scene-Locations and Setting

We are going to have a lot of jump cuts from locations to create a sense of tension in the audience and this is a convention in thriller films in creating a jumpy, tense atmosphere. These jump cuts will also keep a fast pace to the opening so it doesn’t drag and the audience is engaged and is immersed in the jumpy nature of the film. The jump cuts from the girl leaving the party and the psychopath killer preparing will consciously link the two together and give the audience a sense of dreaded expectation adding to the tense nature of the opening.

Locations and Setting
Killer’s bedroom	Elijah’s bedroom-To give a hint of the killers obsessions and lifestyle. Would be shown in close ups, not giving away too much of the surroundings and will have pictures of defaced ex-victims on the wall.
House	Omar’s house- This would be used for when the main character is seen leaving the party and gets locked out. Close ups in the door area where the main character would be seen coming out. long shot giving full view of house.
Street	Omar’s street- Isolated lonely street where character would be seen walking looking vulnerable. Would be shown in long shots and close ups when it comes to showing the characters expressions and movements/ medium shots.
Alleyway	An alleyway near Omar’s house- Often seen unsafe so will be used to give a threatening effect to thee audience knowing something dangerous is going to happen. This would be seen in long shots to show how completely empty it is.

PLANNING- Which institution will distribute our film?

Which institution will distribute our film?

A distribution company for a film is a company that creates a marketing campaign for the film to bring in a wider audience to view the film. The distribution company also has the job to sell as many prints of the film to different cinemas within their allocated country or region in order to increase the audience of the film.

I feel that the distribution company that is most fitting in distributing a film is a company like Lionsgate. I feel a company like Lionsgate is a good fit for a film like ours because it is a mainstream distribution company that has generated an average of $2billion at the global box office each of the past three years. I feel that our film would be distributed by a mainstream distributor because our film is targeting the majority of youth who commonly consume mainstream media rather than smaller, niche markets. Lionsgate also is familiar with distributing successful thriller films as it has distributed the entire Divergent series of films.  

I feel that youth, our target audience ,is very likely to consume social media and the internet so the main marketing campaign for a film like ours should take place online as this is also a good place to advertise as the advertisement is much easier send to a mass amount of people at little to no cost. Also online marketing has the benefits of it easily being shared and navigated through by someone related or in contact with an audience member viewing it so the advert spread to a wider audience more efficiently and cost effectively.

PLANNING- Sound design

Sound design

Planning Sound design.

In our opening we know that the sound is going to be vital to creating a tense, creepy atmosphere that is typical of the thriller genre. We considered the amount of diegetic and non-diegetic sound we are going to use for our opening and how there were going to be recorded and placed into the opening.

We decided we are going to use more diegetic sound to build up the tension of the opening and there will be gaps of silence to create and eerie atmosphere and the music in the piece will be minimalistic but high pitched to give a chilling effect to the audience.

Non-diegetic	Diegetic
The sound of a heart beating.	The sound of the keyboard typing and the clicks of the mouse and the computer running whilst in the man’s room.
Tense slow,high pitched music to build up tension.	The sound of the clock ticking whilst in the man’s room.
Impact noises/sound effects when titles enter.	The closing of the door when the man is leaving his room to the party.
	The sound of the man breathing when the man is following the girl.
	Muffled sound of music and talking from the party when we cut from the man’s room to the outside of the house where the party is being made.
	The footsteps of the man and girl when the girl is being followed.
	Background sound of the street when the girl and man is on the street.
	The sharpening of his knife within the man’s bedroom.

However there will be a bit of music played in the background that will be a high-pitched that just add a chilling undertone. We will also dub a lot of the diegetic sounds for them to have more of an impact and create more of a building soundscape as the narrative progresses. There will be short hard impact sounds when a credit appears and a sound of typing as the animation of the words are being type. The music in the background will then increase in volume and intensity as the opening’s narrative comes to a climax when the serial killer is following his victim.

PLANNING- Who’s our target audience?

Who’s our target audience?

Our film opening’s audience will not be family as our genre is thriller/horror which wouldn’t be suitable for young children. As our film will be played by teenagers and the narrative links with youth culture with the use of Facebook and going to parties which is more associated with teenagers and young adults rather than adults and young children.

I think that the top regions for the film will be London or other inner city regions as the film will be set in the streets and will have an urban feel in which will be more relevant for audiences with the city also inner cities will have more cinemas and an increased amount of platforms to watch the film rather than more rural areas.

I think that a lot of the audience will be students or unemployed just coming out of education as we are targeting a young audience with the narrative and actors within the opening, relating to youth culture.

I think our target audience will consume a wide range of popular media from fashion, social media, TV and movies that are typical of youth culture making sure they are on top of the latest brands and media platforms.

Thrillers also seem to be popular with an older wider audience as it is intelligent compared to a graphic horror movies which audience is more of a younger generation. Taking this on bored our opening will be typical of a thriller opening and imply more than it graphically and obviously shows. 

The Pitch (5,6,10,14,Storyboards, Marketing)- Savannah

Institution detail

 

Audience detail

 

Marketing

Title Credits

Technology Skills audit

Storyboards

The Pitch (1, 2, 3, 4 and 13) - Sabina

1. The Film

The title of our film is Obsession. 

Our initial plot/storyline ideas were based on a serial killer having a strange obsession within kidnapping young teenage girls. So our idea was to first to show where the killer lives (his bedroom) with pictures of eliminated girls then the picture of the main girl that is going to be killed. And because he has an obsession of stalking these girls we will seem him typing up her name on Facebook to see where she will be. there then be a shot of a different location of where there is a party and the main character which is a young teenage girl is walking out with her drunk friend, however the drunk friend goes back in the house and accidentally locks the main character out with no one hearing her knock to get back in so she's left alone. The main character is seen all alone with shots of the empty street. A blacked out car then comes behind her and stops whenever she looks behind. There are then cut in shots where the killer is sharpening a knife showing that there will be violence. The end shot will then be the girls scarf abandoned on the floor and a screech of car wheels.

    
2. What type of title sequence is it? 

Our title sequence will be a narrative title sequence.
One of the real title sequences that influenced us was Seven and The Shining. 
We were really inspired by Seven because of the way the images were presented alongside the title credits.
It's the same with The Shining.


3. What genre (or sub-genre) of film is it?

We have decided that the genre of our film will be thriller. At first we thought about doing it on horror but with the storyline that we came up with, thriller fitted it best. However, there will be some elements of horror within the film. We all enjoy watching films of these genres because of the way that suspense and tension is built up.

One of the title sequences that really influenced us was Seven.

4. Representation 

 

There will be three characters that are shown in our title sequence. The serial killer, the main girl and her friend. 

The main girl is the quiet type of girl who isn’t into dressing up or partying. Her friend is the opposite of her. 

We will represent this through stereotypes. Most people assume that the majority of teenagers love to party and are trouble makers who are loud and irresponsible. But in our film opening it will show that not all teenagers are like that. For example, the main character doesn't love partying and it actually quiet and shy. To show this, she will be wearing quite casual clothes for a party whereas her friend will be all dressed up.


13. Risk Assessment 

The knife - We will be using a knife which is dangerous. Someone could accidentally cut themselves or hurt another person. We need to handle the knife with care and keep it pointed down.

The public - It will be difficult to film in a public area because sometimes the public don’t like being filmed. To prevent this from happening we will be filming in areas that have less people and we will also be filming in the afternoon when it is dark.

Locations - Sometimes, certain areas are out of bounds to film on. So we will make sure that we don’t trespass and have permission to film in the area.

Loose wire - When filming, there may be loose wires on the ground coming from the equipment and people who are part of the crew or just the general public could trip. If there are loose wires then they shouldn't be scattered everywhere. People who are filming should be aware of where they step too.

Equipment - Sometimes equipment is left lying around on the set without any supervision. Someone could accidentally trip over them or step on it To make sure this doesn't happen, all equipment should be put away once they have been used. Also, someone should supervise them at all times.

PLANNING- Which institution/ studio will distribute your film?/ Creating own production company - Savannah

New Line Cinema 
New line cinema would be likely to distribute our film as it distributes popular mainstream films and distributed the film Se7en which we think would be a similar production to our film obsession.


Our unique selling point would be how our production company would be advertised out to the public through popular social site like Facebook and twitter. This would most likely attract the younger generation as well as the mid aged people who still use social sites.

For marketing we would use Facebook and Twitter as it is free and the easiest way to reach out to the public and potential viewers of the film. We would also make posters that would most likely be posted online and maybe in public. Our release would be a wide release as New line cinema would be distributing our film and they distribute films nationally but it would mostly advertised and viewed in London city as that is where the film is based.

The formats for our film would be available on blu-ray and normal dvd quality for people to buy after the film has been released. 


As our film would be incorporating different type of brands being worn and showed we do intend to have cross-media links with brands such as Nike as one of the characters would be wearing nike trainers. 

Creating our own production company- We decided our production company would be called Benjamin Productions and we designed this logo using after effects using a template to animate the text.