Blog 5 - Shot list

Shot List

1) Close up - Scientist writing on board
2) Long Shot/Zoom in/Close Up - Experiment 369 getting up
3) Through Eyesight Shot - Experiment 369 explores location and flees after hearing a scream from an experiment taking place
4) Over The Shoulder Shot/Zoom in/Close up - Scientist monitoring experiment 369 (Scientist laughs)
5) Through Eyesight Shot - Experiment 369 fleeing down stairs and managing to get outside and spots a gate it can escape out of
6) Over The Shoulder Shot/Zoom in/Close Up - Scientist pushes button while monitoring experiment 369 (Scientist: "I dont think so")
7) Through Eyesight Shot - Gate closes infront of Experiment 369 and he tries to unlock it
8) Close up/Zoom out - Scientist ticking a sheet of paper as a reaction to experiment 369 not being able to escape (Scientist: "So far so good")
9) Medium Shot - CCTV watching Experiment 369 explore the location and enter a building
10) Medium Shot/Close Up/Zoom in - CCTV watching character inside building/zooms it showing a sign warning about experiment 222 escaping
11) Through Eyesight Shot - Experiment 369 walks up stairs and tries to open a locked door, when he goes to exit the building, a knock attracts his attention which shows a hand with the letters "222" on it covered in blood which makes him flee
12) Long Shot -  CCTV view showing experiment 369 exploring outside and eventually entering a building
13) Close Up/Through the eyesight Shot/Zoom out - Scientist presses a button which locks a door meaning experiment 222 has to go a different way which leads to a dining hall with experiment 222 dead on the floor, a flashback a scientist killing experiment 222 shows and then experiment 369 walks off and enters a door which is shown by  CCTV
14) Through Eyesight Shot - Experiment 369 finds documents and reads them about experiments able to regenerating
15) Close Up/Zoom in and out - Scientist kills experiment 369 and leaves the computer however it shows experiment 222 twitching and get up, a flashback of the regeneration paragraph shows
16) Medium Shot/Zoom in - Scientist suprised experiment 222 is coming after him and flees
17) Long Shot - CCTV view of Scientist fleeing from his monitoring room and experiment 222 entering it
18) Through Eyesight Shot/Medium Shot - Experiment 222  looks through what the scientist was doing monitoring the experiments and monitors experiment 369 killing the scientist (Scientist: Oh God!)
19) Close Up - Experiment 222 replaces the words on the whiteboard

Blog 4 - Scene Breakdown

Scene by scene breakdown

Scene 1

The first scene will show the scientists hand rubbing off the word "Awaiting" and writing "In Progress" next to the numbers "369".  The camera will be focusing on the "369 In Progress" however around that will be other numbers such as "368 Failed" Although this is unclear at the beginning, later on in the film it will make sense as to what it means. This scene will be shot against a whiteboard in the media studies classroom. The duration of the scene will be around 5-10 seconds. The shot used will be a close up and the music for the scene is undecided at the moment.

Scene 2

The second scene will show a CCTV view of the body of the main character on the floor twitching and  zooming in on his hand to reveal the number "369" imprinted on it and then zooms to reveal him getting up and walking out of the particular CCTV's view range. To achieve the CCTV effect the scene will be filmed normally however when editing the film i will change the colour scale to "grey scale" to achieve a black and grey effect which CCTV have and i will also add an overlapping title saying "CCTV". The scene will be shot in the corridor on the top floor of the music block. The Duration of the clip will be around 10-15 seconds. The shot used will be a long shot and the music for the scene is undecided at the moment.

Scene 3

The third scene will be the through the main characters eyesight who just got up, scaning his location and spotting a door with the sign "Experiment In Progress" on it. He will try to open the door but it is locked, a sound effect of a scream will then be played which startles the main character, causing them to flee away from the door. When he tries to open the door it will show the number 369 on his hand clearly so that its clear to the audience that its his eyesight. The scene will be shot in the same music block corridor and will be through the main characters eyesight. The duration of the clip will be around 15-20 seconds and the music for the scene is undecided at the moment, however a scream sound effect will be used.

Scene 4

The fourth scene will be an over the shoulder shot of the scientist looking at the computer which has CCTV footage of the main character frantically running down a set of stairs. It will zoom into the computer screen so it is clear that he is monitoring the main character. The scene will be shot in the media studies classroom and the duration of the clip will be around 10-15 seconds. The music for the scene is undecided at the moment, however an evil laugh sound effect will be used as the scientist is watching the main character flee down the stairs.The camera shot used will be a medium-close up.

Scene 5

The fifth scene will be through the main characters eyesight as he is running down a corridoor, still in shock from the experiment taking place. The camera will be shaken a bit to show he is running frantically. At the end of the corridor is a door which leads to outside which the main character opens. When outside he looks around and spots an open gate which he could use to escape. The scene will be shot in the bottom corridor of the music block and just outside the music block. The duration of the clip will be around 5-10 seconds and the music for the scene is undecided at the moment however there will be audio of fast paced foot steps to show he was running down the corridor in a hurry.

Scene 6

The sixth scene will be an over the shoulder shot of the scientist looking at the computer which shows a CCTV view of the character approaching the open gate. The camera will zoom in to clearly show that he is monotoring the character walking towards the open gate and then zoom out to show the scientist tap a button on a keyboard while saying "i dont think so". The scene will be shot in the media studies classroom and the duration of the clip will be around 10-15 seconds. The music for the scene is undecided at the moment and the camera shot used is a medium close up.

Scene 7

The seventh scene will be through the main characters eyesight as he is looking at the open gate which suddenly closes and locks itself in reaction to the scientist  pushing the button, he then rushes up the gate and starts trying to open it, shaking it in panic. The scene will be shot by the school gates just outside the music block and the music for the scene is undecided at the moment however the duration of the clip will be around 5-10 seconds and will have sound effects of the gate closing the rattling of the gate to show it has locked itself.

Scene 8

The eighth scene will be a close up of the CCTV view on the computer being watched by the scientist showing the main character panicing trying to open the gate, the camera then zooms out to show the scientist laughing then saying "so far so good" and then ticking something on a piece of paper which is unclear to the audience at the time. The scene will be shot in the media studies classroom and will use a medium-close up The duration of the clip will last around 10-15 second and the music for the scene is undecided at the moment.

Scene 9

The ninth scene will be through a CCTV view watching the main character walk away from the gate and walk up some stairs then walk into a building. The CCTV will zoom in on the main character and follow him as he moves. The scene will be shot outside the music block/history block and will last around 15-20 seconds. The music is undecided at the moment and the camera shot used will be a medium close up.

Scene 10

The tenth scene will be through a CCTV view watching the main character enter the building and begin to walk up a set of stairs, while he is walking up the stairs in the foreground of the scene, the camera will pan to the right and zoom in on a sign that says "WARNING EXPERIMENT 222 HAS ESCAPED DO NOT ENTER THE FACALITYS" with a caution symbol below the text to show the experiment is dangerous. The clip will last around 10-15 seconds and will be shot in the bottom floor of the history block. The music used is undecided at the moment and a close up camera shot will be used.

Scene 11

The eleventh scene will be through the main characters eyesight as he walks up the stairs while looking around, once he reaches the top of the stairs he will try to open a locked door but fail, as he turns around to go back down the stairs he hears a loud and look around to see a hand against some glass with the letters "222" on it, meaning its the experiment the warning sign showed,the hand will then flip over and scrape blood down the glass (will use tomato sauce as blood) which causes the main character to run back out the building. The duration of the clip will be around 15-20 seconds and the music for the scene is undecided at the moment.

Scene 12

The twelfth scene will be through the CCTV view showing the character exploring the outside and eventually entering a building. The scene will be shot just outside the H block and will last around 10-15 seconds using a long shot. The music for the scene is undecided at the moment.

Scene 13

The thirteenth scene will be a close up of the computer screen showing the character walking up some sets of stairs, the camera will then zoom out to show the scientist tick something on the same sheet again, it is unclear what he is ticking for the audience at this moment of time he will then press a button which switches the camera view back to the main character and a door closes infront of him, forcing him to turn around and go up another set of stairs, entering a canteen/dining hall of some sort which has a trail of blood which he follows to find a dead person by which he checks its hand to find the numbers "222". A flashback then occurs in black and white and shows the scene where he saw the "222" imprinted hand on the other side of the glass and then another flashback which shows a scientist killing experiment 222 in the canteen and walking off. The main character then walks off and enters a door which is viewed by the CCTV. The duration of the clip is around 15-20 seconds and the music for the scene is undecided yet. The scene will be shot in the year 7 canteen on the top floor of the U block and in the exiting coridoor and consists of an eyesight shot and medium close-up shot.

Scene 14

The fourteenth scene will be be through the main characters eyesight as he enters a small office which documents scattered around the centre desk, he begins to read one of the documents which is a diary of a scientist about the progress of the experiments, as the diary goes on about the continous faults of the experiments, black and white flashbacks of the main characters mistakes play such as not attempting to climb the gate, showing emotion by being scared of the screaming and fleeing from it, and showing sympathy for experiment 222. The he spots a dead scientists body finto the room chair holding a piece of paper which he takes and reads which states about the experiments past 200 being able to regenerate and can use technology and he is the only one who knows. The scene will be shot in the small office inside reception and will last around 35-40 seconds. The music for the scene is undecided at the moment.

Scene 15

The fifthteenth scene will show a close up of the computer screen showing a CCTV view of the main character looking at the body and then zooms out to see the the scientist say "we cant be letting you escape now can we?" then presses buttons which locks the door and the camera zooms in on the main character trying to open the door, it then zooms out to show the scientist say "and now for your death" and presses a big red button which gases the room, the camera then zooms in on the computer screen to show the main character suffocate and fall on the floor. . It then zooms back out for the scientist to say now 222 is dead, i can have my coffee break and gets off the chair and walks off, however the camera zooms back in to show experiment 222 twitch and get up and walk away, a flashback of the regeneration paragraph shows.The scene will be around 25-30 seconds and will be shot in the media studies classroom, the music is undecided at the moment however there will be an aerosole spray sound effect to show the main character getting gased.

Scene 16

The sixteenth scene will show the scientist sit back down and be shocked that experiment 222 has disappeared from the location, the camera will then zoom in on the computer screen to show experiment 222 walking down a corridor just outside the room his in, he will then get up off his chair and run out of the room. The shot used will be a close up and over the shoulder shot, the duration of the clip will be around 5-10 seconds and the music for the scene is undecided at the moment. The location of the scene will be the media studies classroom.

Scene 17

The seventeenth scene will  be a CCTV view of the scientist fleeing from his room and experiment 222 will then enter the room he came out of. The shot used will be a long shot and the scene will be shot in the L3 block corridors. The music for the scene is undecided and the duration of the scene will be around 5 seconds.

Scene 18

The eighteenth scene will be through experiment 222's eyesight and will show him looking around the location where the scientist was, he will approach the computer which shows CCTV of the scientist still running away, experiment 222 will then look at the desk which the scientist was marking throughout his experiment and flashbacks of experiment 369 struggle will show at each relevant point. Experiment 222 will then look at the computer screen which shows the scientist in the office where experiment 369 is dead. It will then swap to a CCTV view of the scientist picking up the paper about regeneration and going "oh god" as experiment 369 raises from the ground and approaches him, the screen will then go black for several seconds and audio of a man screaming will be played, it will then go back to the CCTV view of the scientist  lying dead next to experiment 369. The scene will be around 1 minute+ long in duration and will be shot in the media studies classroom/reception office, the music for the scene is undecided at the moment and a long shot will be used.

Scene 19

The last scene will be the same whiteboard as before in the first scene and it will show experiment 222's hand wiping off the word "progress/injured" and replace it with "complete/healthy" The scene will last around 5-10 seconds, the music for the scene is undecided at the moment however  it will be shot in the media studies classroom and a close up shot will be used.

Other important factors

• around 270 (4.5 minutes) to 360(6 minutes) in duration not including titles/credits, will have to make sure it doesnt exceed 300 seconds (5 minutes) as it wont be a short film
• important props that need to be created are the "experiment taking progress" sign and "experiment 222 has escaped" sign and the documents about the experiments

Blog 3 - Pitch

Presentation Pitch

Written Pitch

The Film 369 will be about an unidentified male character who wakes up in an abandoned location howecver it infact is not abandoned, and is actually a secret laborotory disguised. It becomes clear through stages of the film that there is also another character, a scientist who is monitoring the main characters action through a use of strangely placed CCTV cameras which appear on a computer screen. The scientist also uses a variety of switches and buttons to activate traps which prevent the main character escaping. Throughout the film the main character will find clues such as documents and bodies to find out why he is there and what the school/laborotory is hiding. All the shots are through the CCTV view and the main characters eyesight.

The genre of the film is Thriller/Horror as human experiments are taking place in the laborotory and that the main character is desperate to escape.

The Audience of the film would be people aged 15+ as the storyline is complex and therefore a younger audience may not understand the plot of the film, also the gore of certain scenes such as the dead body in the apparent canteen makes it inappropriate for a young audience.

Blog 2 - Planning

Plot

The plot of the film focuses around an unidentified male character waking up in an unknown location and the film details his attempt to figure out what the location is and how he can escape. It becomes apparent through stages of the film that there is a character controlling events which occur to try and prevent the main character from escaping through the use of a computer monitoring his actions and switches. The main character finds files and documents throughout the film giving out vague clues to why he is there and what the location is however these clues all become clear at the end when he is re-captured at the end. The main character will find exits throughout the film however the character behind the computer limits his choice of paths throughout the film through the use of locking doors and having strange thugs guard certain areas. He realises throughout the film he is in an abandoned school which is being used as a laboratory for experiments and clues lead him to reveal he is one of their experiments.

• Media Studies classroom – for the scenes where the experimenter is monitoring the main character through the computer, also used for the scene where the main character finds an abandoned room and finds documents on the desk/unclear information on the white board

• L block corridors – for the scenes where it shows the CCTV view of the main character and the main characters eyesight while exploring the location

• H1 block corridors – for the scenes where it shows the CCTV view of the main character and the main characters eyesight while exploring the location



• Music block corridor – for the scenes where it shows the CCTV view of the main character and the main characters eyesight while exploring the location

• Outside the H block/School grounds – Where the character is exploring his location and the CCTV is viewing his actions

• Outside the music block by the school gate/School grounds – Where the character comes out of the music block and tries to escape by opening the gate, but finds out it’s locked



Roles

• Main Character - Ben Fawcett
• Scientist/Person behind computer - Ben Fawcett
• Thugs - Random pupils
• Bodies - Random pupils
• Camera man - Ben Fawcett/pupil

Equipment

Papers/Documents/Posters

Plastic Knives

Tomato sauce (fake blood)

Celotape (to stick posters to the walls)

Technologies/Effects Used

• Windows movie makers video effect ‘Grey Scale’ with an overlaying title saying “CCTV” will be used to show the scenes being filmed by the CCTV camera

• Most shots will be handheld camera shots to show its the main characters eyesight



Blog 1 - Film Research

Influential Films

One of my influential films is 'Phonebooth'. This is one of my influential films because i liked the idea of a character being limited to a location by another character who is controlling them/threatening them. I wanted to apply this idea into my short-film by having a main character trying to escape a unfamiliar location while another character is trying to keep them contained through the use of switches and monitoring their actions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR4vKznkWUQ&feature=related
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Another one of my influential films is 'Saw'. This is one of my influential films because it goes with my idea from phonebooth about the idea of somebody controlling another character and putting them in threatening sitatuations. Another reason i chose Saw is because its a horror film which inspired my film to be about a person being in a laborotory which is using humans as experiments which gives the film a thriller/horror genre to it just like saw.

Another one of my influential films is 'Resident Evil'. This is one of my influential films because i liked the idea of the main character waking up in an unknown location and picking up clues to find out who she is. I decided to incorporate this idea into my short-film by having an unknown character wake up in an unknown location and pick up to clues to find out what the location is and why he is there. Also because Resident Evil is about experiments going wrong it fits in with the plot of my film about experimentation going on in a laborotory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIeBp9RapcI

Another one of my influences is the 17 episode British television series 'The Prisoner'. This is one of my influences because i liked the idea of the main character being kidnapped and taken to an unknown location and being monitored by people with the motive of finding out why he suddenly quit his job as a spy. I also liked the idea that the people around him refered to him and the other people by labeling them as numbers such as the main character being refered to as "6." To incorporate these ideas into my film i will make it so that the scientists motives of monitoring and containing experiment 369 was to test its intelligence, strength and emotional balance and i also labeled the experiments with numbers such as "369" and "222".

Short Film Research

One of my influencial short films is Zapato and Caldera. This is one of my influencial short films because it has a horror genre which is what im aiming for my film to be, and the plot focuses on two boys who seek revenge on a man who murdered one of their sisters and use him as an experiment for a U.SB they made which plays events in that persons mind. I like this plot because it goes with my idea of a scientist creating experiments and i like the idea of revenge being used in my film also. To incorporate these ideas into my film i will have the scientist creating experiments and have some of the experiments seeking revenge on the scientist for the crime he commited.

Another one of my influencial short films is Alma. This is one of my influencial short films because the plot of the film is a bout a girl who spots a doll that looks exactly like her and becomes engrossed in obtaining the doll, she enters a shop which appears to open and close by itself which i want the scientist to do to the experiment. There are also other posessed dolls shown in the shop one trying to escape on a bicycle, others fixeated on the shop shelfs. To incoporate these ideas into my film i am going to show previous expeirments and have the scientist uses switches to lock the experiment in certain areas.

Audience Feedback

In order to gain audience feedback i presented a pitch about my film to the class. The class gave feedback about my film asking questions and giving ideas to help with the film, the suggestions involve:

• Could use evil voice as the scientist to show how demonic he is
• Make sure you use the correct Mise-En-Scene to show its a laborotory and not the school its being filmed in 
• Use the correct music in each scene to create a mysterious/hostile atmosphere
• Use sound effects such as people screaming to show experiments are going on
• Make sure the clues throughout the film explaining the main characters identity is clear to the audience
• Make it clear that the scientist behind the computer is controlling the main character
• Make sure the hand-held camera shots are shot at the right height to show its the main characters eyesight
• Make sure no un-wanted extras are in the background in any of the scenes as it wont look abandoned
• Make the intentions of the scientist and the main character clear
• Make sure its clear that it is a CCTV viewing the main character not just a video effect