Review of test shoot

On Wednesday, we did a test shoot for our opening sequence in order to identify what parts of our idea worked well and where we need to make some changes. Below are some pictures of the test shoot:










Whilst I feel that the plot is clear due to the reveal of the man feeding the woman the poison shortly before her hands go limp, By adding more clues and shots of the man doing different activities to prepare the poison, I believe that we could communicate this from earlier on in the sequence. For example, as a group we have decided to add in extra details to create a sinister atmosphere from early on. For example, we have decided to include a scientific set up, such as the one that is used for distillation pictured below. This will add to the character of the man by revealing his meticulous nature and hinting at the fact that there is something unusual going on. We would include some extra close up shots of the roaring spirit burner flame and the clock ticking to add to the tension. We would also include a shot of the tweezers being sterilised using the fire This would also help to make the sequence longer, which is something that we struggled with during our test shoot. Furthermore, we failed to follow the on-set protocol, which states that the camera should be rolling for the duration of the shoot. By doing this, we would also have more footage to work with and this would allow us to extend our opening sequence to at least two minutes.














However, despite the difficulties we encountered, there were some aspects of our test shoot that worked well. For example, we thought that the shots we did take of the man preparing the poisonous mixture formed quite a mysterious yet enigmatic tone. One success of our test shoot was the last shot in which the woman's hands go limp which happens just as the music changes tone. This is something that we would like to include in our final shoot. I also believe that the close-up shots of the woman's hands and legs tied up communicate the idea of her being tortured by the man quite well. As a group, we have agreed that we think the second half of the opening sequence is much more engaging than the first half, and this is another reason why we wish to include more detail of the preparation of the poisonous substance from the beginning. I filmed some of the sequence from an off-centre angle and although this was a mistake, our group have agreed that we actually like this aspect of it and this is something that we might experiment further with. Next time, we also need to work on continuity. By making sure not to move any of the props, we should be able to achieve this.









With all this in mind, below is the new outline we have decided on:


Puts on the vinyl
Man whistling along to the song, he walks from left to right, pan follows his waist as he walks past his scientific set up (distillation, equipment out)
Over the shoulder shot from the woman to the man over by the window (silhouette)
The whistling stops and he takes out a bag of berries in the same shot
Close up of him holding up the berries to the light of the window
Extreme Close up of clock ticking with the sound
Extreme Close up of gentle roaring flame
Extreme Close up of bubbling water in the flask (foreshadowing the bubbling funnel)
Medium closeup of him putting the berries down
Close up of his chest and lower half of his face looking out of the window (from a diagonal angle)
A shot of outside through the window (POV) of the sky?
Close up of his chest and lower half of his face again but he returns to his task
Shot of all of the equipment again


Shot of foot struggling from behind as it is tied to the chair
Tweezers sterilise with fire
Pick the berries out of the bag and into the pestle and mortar
text message (shot of phone buzzing on a different surface). His wife asking what he wants for dinner that night
closeup when One falls on his hand
Uses bleach or a strong chemical to wash his hands because of the berry
he picks it up again with tweezers and discards it
Puts on rubber gloves, for extra protection
Wipes the tweezers off on a bit of tissue (something of that sort)
Extreme close up of blade slicing the berry
Crushes the berries with loud banging (shown through different angles and titled, distorted angles to create sinister intention)
Uses a spoon and puts it into a beaker
Close up of pure water dripping from the condenser of the setup into a (different) beaker, he grabs it
Pipette, a few drops into the crushed berries, swirls it around
Puts it down, sighs, tapping his finger / he is anxious
Sits down
Takes off his gloves, (sitting) and smokes as a reflection
Another over the shoulder shot from the woman of him smoking at the window
Puts it out, walks to the poison
The prepared poison in front of him, pan follows him as he walks to the woman
Extreme close up of her eyes, distressed
Silhouette of him coming towards her from her point of view
Quick cut her hands struggling hard
Quick cut feet pushing harder
Quick cut the vinyl spinning
Quick cut her eyes are wider, tears rolling down her cheeks (these quick cuts could be jumped between in editing to create a frantic desperation)
He pours in the poison
Over the shoulder shot looking down on her as she chokes
Extreme Close up of funnel bubbling, liquid spilling over and splashing her face
Extreme Close up of eyes getting weaker
Extreme close up Hands going limp

Test shoot

Today, Matthew, Meadow and I carried out a test shoot for our opening sequence. 

             

Planning our test shoot

We began preparing for our test shoot on Wednesday. In order to prepare, we had to decide on the location, characters and props. Given that we have to remain on campus, we decided to film in the media classroom. Since Meadow is a Day House Student, she offered to bring in lots of the props that we needed including a pestle and mortar and tweezers. We did not have access to a record player but this wasn't too important as the main purpose of our test shoot is to see if our narrative sequence will come together as we have imagined it too. We planned out one of the most significant shots as a digital sketch which helped us to prepare and set up the shot quickly. 

sketch of one of the shots 

We then assigned roles to each person in our group. We decided that Matthew could play the role of the man and that Meadow could act as the woman being murdered by the man. As well as acting in the sequence, Meadow will take on the role of editor and Matthew will take behind the scenes shots. I will be the director and the camera operator.

                     

The shoot ran relatively smoothly. However, we had to work under time pressure as we were given just less than an hour to film our sequence which meant that our test shoot is not quite as polished as it could've been. For example, one difficulty that we encountered was filming enough footage to fill the minimum length of two minutes. When it came to editing, we also noticed some continuity issues. This is because we didn't follow all the on-set protocol. For example, we didn't leave the camera rolling and instead we filmed individual clips and put them all together. In addition, we also moved the props a few times, which is what caused issues with continuity and we will be keeping in mind when we do our final shoot.                    

opening sequence mood board

I created a mood board for our opening sequence to represent my vision which can be seen below: 

This is a thriller opening sequence as it follows a number of the conventions of the genre. Firstly, throughout the opening an atmosphere of tension and suspense would be built as the audience would know that there is dark element to the film from the very beginning which would be built on throughout. Furthermore, the opening features a crime and establishes an antagonist. I have reflected this on my mood board, through pictures of a terrified woman and a dark, unidentifiable man which reflects the mystery and fear associated with this genre. Furthermore, including hand cuffs and a picture of a character's legs tied to a chair reflects the criminal activity that features in the opening sequence and also reflects the theme of torture and murder that features in the opening sequence.

Moreover, another key them of the opening scene of the opening sequence is the setting, a greenhouse, which captures one of the key aspects of the narrative, which is using natural ingredients, in this case poisonous daphne mezzanine berries to murder the victim whilst leaving no trace. Using scientific equipment including a funnel (pictured below) and a beaker reflects the theme of precision that is evident throughout the opening sequence.

Our opening sequence follows a man who murders his sister through a concoction of poisonous berries which leads to his discovery that he enjoys the process of murdering. My mood board features daphne mezzanine berries and a beaker that the poisonous mixture is deposited into. The mood board also features pictures of the duct tape and funnel that is used to pour the substance into the woman's mouth. At the beginning of the sequence, the man begins playing a vinyl on his record player. The soundtrack, which we are yet to decide on is also reflected in the picture of sheet music on the top left. 

The sequence features two characters. One of the characters is the man who is a murderer and plans and executes his murder in a meticulous fashion. He uses gloves, as seen in the mood board, reflecting his attempts not to leave a trace of incriminating evidence at the scene. The character also remains faceless which adds to the mysterious element of the opening sequence. 

The second character is a woman, the victim of the murder. Her movement is constrained using leather straps and handcuffs and her fear is captured through the picture in the middle of the mood board in which a woman is screaming.

 

research into the treatment of a crime scene.

After a crime has occurred investigators will identify the main area of investigation, which could be the area in which the crime occurred or a personal space belonging to a victim or suspect that the investigators deem worthy if investigation. They tend to investigate areas which will contain physical evidence that will help them to progress in the investigation. Once the area has been investigated, the investigators will ensure that they clear the scene of any safety hazards to ensure that the investigation runs smoothly. Once the crime scene has been identified and cleared, there must be security on scene so that the crime scene is not tampered with. In order to make sure of this, the scene will be taped off, indicating that this area should not be entered. 

Before the investigators begin handling the crime scene, they must develop a theory as to what offence they believe has taken place. This also involves holding interviews with people who may have information valuable to the investigation. They will then begin carefully collecting evidence taking into account a range of factors. These include the time of day at which the crime occurred, the weather at the time and more. Investigators will then decide which pieces of evidence should be focussed on. After this, pieces of evidence or deposited into plastic bags along with a description of the evidence. The conditions of the crime scene will also be recorded. For example, the positioning of furniture, the smell and temperature of the area. This should be done after collecting all of the significant evidence to ensure that this process does not disrupt the evidence. 

 Once the initial sweep through has taken place, the area is ready for investigation and the crime scene investigation will begin a more in-depth investigation of the area. Further photos are taken along with video footage and in some cases a 3D scanner may also be used. For some crimes, sketches and diagrams are formed to aid the investigation. Investigators must take care when handling and packaging evidence, particularly if it is biological evidence. A second survey of the area is then undertaken in order to check the area for evidence. A record of all the evidence collected is recorded along with descriptions of all the evidence. 

Evidence found at the crime scene is investigated first at a test known as a presumptive test which indicates what sort of substance it is. This helps to build an image of what took place at the crime scene, as well as who might have been responsible. It also helps to show which pieces of evidence are most significant. These pieces of evidence will then be sent off to a lab to undergo further testing. 

In our opening sequence, in order for the man's plan to succeed, it needs to seem as if the woman has died of natural causes. Therefore, the man must wear gloves in order to leave no trace of DNA at the scene, as well as disposing of all the materials used to commit the crime. 

For this research I used the following websites: 

http://www.forensicsciencesimplified.org/csi/how.html

Inheritance research post

What happens when there is a will?


After the passing of a family member, the surviving family members receive the inheritance which is usually in the form of a cash endowment. This is usually distributed evenly between children or grandchildren. In this case, when the will is written the person's children may be listed as beneficiaries. As well as cash, inheritance will include assets such as property.





What happens if there isn't a will?


When there isn't a will, allocating the inheritance is not quite as simple. In this scenario, a probate court must make choices as to how the inheritance is distributed as best as they can. However, when it comes to the distribution of the deceased person's assets such as jewellery, heirlooms, real estate, and stocks, for example, this can be slightly more difficult. Once the probate court has decided on how the inheritance will be allocated, they will enlist the help of an administrator to finalise the settlement which can take months or even years.









What happens if one of the beneficiaries dies?


If one of the beneficiaries dies, the inheritance that they would've received is evenly distributed among the remaining beneficiaries.





How does this apply to our opening sequence?


The backstory of our opening sequence is that a brother and sister who have had a difficult relationship since a young age, will shortly be receiving money as beneficiaries of their father's inheritance. However, the man, the protagonist of the film has a young son to provide for, as well as an affluent lifestyle to fund. As the only other beneficiary of the inheritance, by killing his sister, the man knows that he will be the one to receive the rest of the inheritance. However, although this man's murder, which is his first, is fuelled by a financial motivation, this murder leads the protagonist to the discovery that he enjoys the process of killing. This leads on to him becoming a serial killer.






I used the following websites for this research:


https://smartasset.com/investing/how-does-inheritance-work


https://towerstreetfinance.co.uk/probate-explained/being-a-beneficiary-of-a-will-explained/#:~:text=If%20the%20Beneficiary%20of%20a%20Will%20dies%20before%20the%20person,among%20the%20remaining%20residual%20Beneficiaries.

Breakdown of our developed idea

Taking into account all of our feedback, we worked together as a group to come up to describe the full narrative sequence: 

1. The scene will open with the man starting to play vinyl on a record player (an isolated classical cello solo. CARMEN, Act I: V. Habanera, Bizet? style) which will shift to a non-diegetic soundtrack through either a rest in the music - this could also alternatively start from the beginning digitally should editing be an issue. 

2. The man then walks over to the plants in his greenhouse, pours hot water from a kettle into a tea cup.

3. He puts on nitrile, medical gloves. He then proceeds to pull out a small zip-lock bag containing many holly berries (20+ are the amount that are required to cause fatality). 

4. He uses tweezers to place each one into a mortar and uses a pestle to crush them. 

5. In an addition shot it can be seen that the man drops water using a pipette into the crushed berry mixture.

6. A different shot then reveals the woman tied up to a chair with zip ties and padded handcuffs with a funnel duct taped to her mouth (this can be done through a pan). She is struggling.

7. The man pours the mixture into the woman’s mouth. She chokes on it.

8. The scene finishes with her frothing at the mouth, and her body/hands going limp after struggling.

   

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Feedback/developing our idea

We pitched our idea to our idea in order to receive feedback. Firstly, it was suggested that we should remove the tea cup aspect of our idea as it contrasted with the seriousness of the subject matter. Therefore, our group came up with the idea of feeding the victim the poisonous substance through either a drip or through a funnel attached with duct tape. However, although we are no longer using a tea cup, we decided that we would stick with the idea of using berries to poison the woman as because they aren't as suspicious as pure poison, which is important given that the man would later attempt to cover his tracks in the film.

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We were also told that it would should come up with a more detailed background tory to explain why this murder occurs and how these characters are related to one another. It was suggested that the two characters could be brother and sister, who do not get along well with each other. After the death of the characters' father. The man murders his sister so that he receives all the family's inheritance money and could use it not only for his self but also to pay for his son's needs. However, in murdering his sister, he realises that he enjoyed the act of killing her and goes on to become a serial killer.  

                                              

We also received feedback on the location. It was suggested that a greenhouse would be an intriguing and visual setting for the opening sequence. Therefore, our group decided that we would like to film the opening sequence in the Beatrice Webb tea room. In this room, it would be possible to film a range of interesting shots, including one of the silhouette of the man.

Group Presentation Pitch

 

Getting into production groups and early organisation

 Today, we were put into the production groups that we will be working in to create our opening sequences. I was put into a group of three with Meadow and Matthew. As a group, we created both a Whatsapp group chat and a Snapchat group so that we can easily keep in contact which will allow us to allocate tasks and to arrange times when we can meet over the coming week to work on our presentation of our idea. 

 

We used the snapchat group chat to shared our emails as a further point of contact and we also shared our timetables so that we could identify time slots in which we are all free to work on the presentation as a group. It is particularly important that we find time slots in which we are all free throughout the school day given that we are all in different houses which means that at the end of the school day we will be unable to discuss the presentation in person. 

Concept idea for opening title sequence 3 feedback

Today, I presented my third opening title sequence idea to my class in order to get feedback as to what aspects of the idea were good and where I could I improve my idea. Overall, the story line for the potential opening sequence was received well. For example, the idea that the character would remain faceless in order to create an air of mystery was a well-liked aspect of the idea. However, there were some questions raised as to how certain elements of the opening title sequence would be executed. 

Firstly, one of my classmates asked where I would film the scene of the man's garden. Additionally, another person raised the fact that tea leaves used to make tea are dried, so it wouldn't make sense for them to be used to make tea directly after being picked from the plant growing in the garden. In order to address both these questions, it was suggested that the opening sequence could begin in the kitchen, which would also avoid the issue of finding a suitable space for the garden.  Below are some images of It was suggested that instead of leaves, the man's kitchen could contain poisonous berries which could be squeezed into hot water in order to create tea with poisonous properties. For example, holly berries are poisonous which could be contained in a plastic bag stored inside the kitchen. 

holly berries which would be stored inside bag 

inspiration for the kitchen set 

One classmate also raised the question of how it would be possible to cast an elderly man given that there aren't any teachers in the school who are old enough to be cast for this role. Therefore, I decided that instead of an elderly man, the character would be roughly between the ages of thirty five and fifty to make it easier to cast someone for this role. Furthermore, the character would wear gloves which would add to the sense of mystery and hint at the poisonous nature of the berries. It would also mean that the age of the actor cast in the role would be less important.

Concept idea for opening title sequence 3

 My third idea is an opening to a thriller film in which an atmosphere of tension and suspense would be created and introduces an antagonist. The opening sequence would begin with a man in his garden collecting leaves from a strange-looking plant. At first the man would appear to be harmless due to his old age and his beautiful garden. However, there would be something much darker going on. 

 

The man would take the leaves from this plant into his kitchen and begin making tea with these leaves. We would then see close-up shots of him washing his hands and taking off the gloves which would accompany an eerie non-diegetic soundtrack, indicating that something is not quite right. The man would then walk into the living room of the house and place the tea on the coffee table before serving a cup for his guest, a woman of roughly the same age. The opening would end with her taking a sip of the tea. 

The man would be wearing a baggy trousers and wellies with a fleece and a close- up shot of his wrinkled hands would reveal his age. However, his face would not be revealed in order to create a sense of mystery around him. The woman would wear a tea dress and a cardigan resembling the style in the picture below.

possible costume for the male character 

inspiration for the female character's costume 

The rest of the film would follow the man, a secret serial killer and the disappearance of several people in a small village.

Concept idea for opening title sequence 2

 My second idea for an opening title sequence would be of the western genre. It follows the western film convention of a conflict between two small towns set in a barren landscape. It would also include a violent shoot-out scene which would adhere to the audience's expectations of this genre. 

Inspired by a scene from the 2018 western film "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", the opening sequence would introduce two cowboys, one dressed in white and one dressed in black, immediately indicating that they belong to opposing towns. Their cotume would be typical of a cowboy including a cowboy hat, boots and a neckerchief. The first two shots would be each of the characters riding in on horses. This would follow an eyeline match in which there would be an extra close-up shot of one of the character's eyes followed by an extra close-up shot of the other cowboy. Close-up shots of the characters' boots and hats would build the image of these cowboys inkeeping with the stereotype of this character. They would then begin to fire shots at each other resulting in one character being fatally shot and falling to the ground. The opening would end with the victorious cowboy riding into the distance. 

costume from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 

The setting would be a large isolated field to appear as if this scene is taking place in a rural landscape.The rest of the film would follow the rivalry between the towns that the two cowboys represent. 

Concept idea for opening title sequence 1

My first idea for an opening title sequence would be a drama. Films in the drama genre tend to be very character focussed and driven and this opening would focus mainly on introducing and building our expectations of the protagonist.

The opening would begin with a scene in which a teenaged girl is lying on her bed in her bedroom staring up at the ceiling and she gets up from her bed and sits her desk. She would stand up and looks at her calendar and shifts to and close-up shot of her calendar which is filled with events such as parties. The camera then focusses on one particular event - "Zoe's birthday". The non-diegetic soundtrack would shift to a downbeat tone and at the same time the character's mood would visibly change to match the sorrowful tone. It is the anniversary of the protagonist's sister's death (although the audience would not know this yet.)

The room would be decorated with posters and there would be etchings and engravings in the wall as well as clothes on the floor, clearly indicating that it is a teenager's room. The costume would be a grey skirt and white shirt which would further indicate that the girl is around fifteen to seventeen years old. The bedroom setting would take inspiration from the film Lady Bird (2017) which can be seen in the picture below.

set inspiration from the film "Lady Bird"

The rest of the film would be follow the character on the day of her sister's death through the eye's of the protagonist.