Completed 'The Day Of The Maniac' Film Opening

Here is a video of our completed film opening, The Day Of The Maniac;

 Completed Preliminary Task;

Evaluation: Questions 1-7

Construction: Post Production

Editing

Once we had uploaded our raw footage onto PremierPro, we picked out the clips that were of the better quality in order to use them for our opening. and dragged them into the order in which we wanted them. After we had done this, we cut the length of some clips in order to ensure that they were suitable and that match on action was constant.  We had made a scene speed up to highlight time passing and that there is no escaping danger.  

We then included transitions between different cuts to ensure that tit runs smoothly. We  mainly used the transition dip to black for the flash back to show a passing in time. The sharp cut to the flashback offers no slow introduction to the death of Abigail.

Sound

Once the clips were placed in the correct order that we were pleased with, we then started by looking on Freesound for sounds that are constantly being used in horror films. We then looked at more specific sounds, such as a 'thump' noise that emphasises the victim's death by blunt force trauma. For example, we searched for sounds of watermelons being smashed to achieve an appropriate sound for when the lump hammer comes into contact with Abigail's head.

After we had found the sounds, we then had to use them to create a score for our opening. We did this by building up layers of different sounds and over laying them to add effect.

The score at the start of the opening is more sinister as it is following the movements of Eleanor as she plans to recreate the murders. The use of piano and violin creates an ominous atmosphere which is what we are aiming to create. The score changes when the chase scene is in process, to highlight the change in mood as the victim tries to escape the imminent doom. For this, we included more up tempo music to shows the adrenaline rush that she is feeling. 

Titles

We had messed around with the placement of our titles and where they should appear and decided that they should appear on the darkest part of the screen as the font colour was white, and so that it would be more visible to the audience.

The font we used for our opening is Nanum Brush Script, which has a stylistic similar to that commonly found in a horror movie opening. 

Construction: Evidence Of Filming

Below is a display of images in which we took whilst filming the scenes for our flashback to the original murders. Despite the fact that this scene does not appear first in the opening sequence, we discovered that it would enable us to include images taken from the 'original murders' in the investigation/research board, which is featured on Eleanor's bedroom wall in present time. 

We had previously filmed this scene on another occasion, however as a result of ineffective charging, the camera ran out of battery before we had finished filming the last few shots. This meant that we had to re-film each shot otherwise the lighting may have disrupted the continuity of the finished product. 

 We began by taking establishing shots of the location, in order to set the scene and give the audience an insight into the potential danger that Taylor's character is about to face. 

The photograph above is what we used as the main focal point of the investigation board, to link it back to the original murder, which is shown through the use of various different camera shots, angles and movements. 

 The two photos above were taken when exploring ideas on how to create the effect of blood splatters. 

Due to the time of day in which we ended up filming, it began to get dark reletively soon. We thought that this may become an issue during the post production process  as it could have effected the continuity. However, it became apparent that it would not pose a problem as the scene is edited to appear in black and white. 

Construction: Raw Footage And Bloopers

Bellow is a combination of raw footage and bloopers from our filming at our two locations.

After gathering all of our footage and uploading it to Premier pro, it became apparent that it would be necesarry to re film, as there were aspects of the filming in which we could have improved on. For example, whilst filming in our first location (the quarry), the camera died before we had completed all of the required shots, therefore re filming the entire thing would ensure that the lighting and continuity was correct. 

Also, we felt that some of the props did not fully make sense or were not clear to the audience. For example Leah's character originally had a knife, as shown in this video, however we later decided that a lump hammer would be more appropriate as it's the same weapon used in the murder in which she is trying to recreate. We also used an image of the original murder victim on the research board so that the flashback makes more sense.

Planning: Filming Schedule

This is the filming schedule for our horror movie. This ensures that we know exactly when we should have filmed certain shots for our film. It is important because it helps the group know when and where certain shots are meant to be filmed.

16th February 2016 - 

From 11:10 to 11:20 we will film shots 3, 5, 9, 11 and 12 giving us around 2 minutes per shot for the close ups and mid shots, which in the final cut, would be no longer than 5-10 seconds long, but the time will be used trying to see what angles work best and making sure that the actors are in the right place.

From 11:21 to 11:35 we will film our Point of View and Panning shots (shots 6 and 7), which would take slightly longer to film because we have to make sure that the camera is in the right place and that the angles we film would work. We will film various different angles for this so that we can choose what one works best in the final cut.

From 11:36 to 11:49 we will film our tracking in and out shots (shots 2 and 13), which would take this long because there are stairs to manoeuvre around and making sure that the lighting is satisfactory and that the actors would be able to be seen. The angle of the camera needs to be considered because the stairs are curved. 

18th February 2016 - 

At 12:00 AM on Friday 18th February 2016, the group and cast will meet at the quarry to film the establishing shot of a derelict building on sight at 12:05 AM. 

From 12:10 to 12:30 we will film shots 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 13, which are the running scenes which will take approximately 3 minutes per shot, which in the final cut, would take no longer than 10 seconds long per shot. Most of the time will be used determining which angle and where to place the camera is best for our film. 

From 12:31 to 12:35 we will film shot 6 which would take four minutes because we will consider possible angles for the close up. 

From 12:36 to 12:46 we will film shots 10 and 11 which are the panning shots of the area, and we will determine which angles work best and what place in the derelict building works best for the scene. 

From 12:47 to 12:57 we will film shots 14 and 15 which are the Point of View shots of the killer killing the victim, it will take 10 minutes to film because we need to get the angles in the correct place so that the fake blood wouldn't get on the camera while filming. 

And lastly, from 12:58 to 1:09 we will film shot 15 which is a low angle shot of the killers feet walking away from the scene of the crime. We decided to film it for this long, because it will help us decide what direction the killer walks away in and how he walks away from the scene. 

At 11:00 AM on Wednesday 16th February 2016, the group and cast will meet at 272 Bath Road to film the extreme close up (shot one) at 11:05 AM.

Planning: Producing A Shot List

The reason for shot listing is that you need to have an idea of what is going to happen within your film and the order in which it happens. Shot listing allows you, as a group, to make decisions as to what is going to be done and how it is going to be filmed, so it is effective for the target audience. Using a shotlist is a great way to improve the planning of your film by helping with organisation. Shotlists are a great way to avoid missing key shots for your film and ensuring that you have filmed everything that was needed. 

Date:	Location:	Shots:	Cast Needed:
16/02/16	Bathroad	Close up	Leah Mitchell
		Track out
		Mid shot
		Cut to door opening
		Close up
		Panning
		Point Of View
		Cut
		Close up
		Cut
		Long/Mid shot
		Low angle shot
		Tracking in
18/02/16	The Quarry	Establishing shot	Taylor Tillin and Ashley Paddick
		Long shot
		Mid shot
		Point Of View
		Panning
		Panning
		Close up
		Point Of View
		Low angle shot
		Close up

Planning: Considering Mise-En-Scene

Costume

Costume is an important factor to consider when making a film because it can be hugely influential on how the audience perceives the character, as their image can be shaped by what they wear. By planning what each character wears, it will effectively help us to think about how we would like each character to be represented to the audience.

Eleanor:

 Eleanor's costume will consist of a black hoodie, black jeans and black converse. We chose this particular outfit as we felt that it highlighted the fact that she is not a stereotypical teenage girl and seems to be detached from society. Her dark clothing, in comparison to her neutral and somewhat brightly coloured room, creates a clear contrast that emphasises a substantial difference in her personality and what is expected of her. 

                                           

Abigail

Abigail's costume will consist of a long fitted navy blue coat, a smart/casual patterned shirt, generic black jeans and black and white converse. Whilst some aspects of her character could be considered to be stereotypical, we wanted to portray Abigail as more of a counter typical female. We felt that this costume comes across as being elegant and sophisticated, whilst casual at the same time. This would perhaps help to communicate her personality to the audience, as it shows that whilst she takes some pride in her appearance, it is not her main priority and is more concerned with intellectual matters. We also thought that the addition of the coat would be appropriate due the fact that the location is fairly secluded, and therefore would have involved a lot of walking to get there. 

Elijah (Original Killer)

The original killer's costume will include a band jumper, black skinny jeans and black trainers. We decided on this costume as he is a stereotypical teenager in the sense that he fulfils the public's current perception of young people today, specifically teenagers. For example, many teens are categorised thieving, knife-carrying, troublemakers who loiter the streets, which is typically what Elijah has been known for. Also, generally, you can tell a lot about a person based on what type of music they listen to. For instance, the killer's choice of music happens to be quite violent, therefore possibly expressing his violent tendencies. 

Props

Props help to form a sense of realism when watching a film, and also serve as tools for the actors to get the feel for their role, which would help improve characterisation. They can also often go a long way towards conveying the time and place of the narrative.

We gathered a range of images from Google, which included rather graphic images of past crime scenes and news articles relating to cases in which people have been murdered or have gone missing. We also included images of notorious serial killers, possible murder weapons and possible locations in which a murder could take place or has previously. We then cut them up and strategically placed them in a juxtaposition on the wall, linking them to specific locations using string and pins.

Our aim was to recreate an investigation wall, something of which you would typically associate with crime dramas such as CSI or NCIS. Through the use of this prop, we hoped to express that Eleanor's character could be classified as a psychopath. The fact that she has devised and researched such a detailed plan of ways in which she could recreate previous murders, considers to be a particularly morbid yet intelligent character.

We acknowledged the fact that fake blood is commonly used within the making of horror films, and therefore decided to make our own. To do this we purchased a bottle of golden syrup, red and blue food colouring and combined them with a small amount of water to form the right texture. We thought that the squirty-cap bottle would be useful when creating blood splatters and therefore used it to contain the mixture. When it comes to filming, we plan to use toothbrushes as a method of flicking the blood onto the face of the killer.

We decided that the lump hammer was both, the original and the copycat killer's weapon of choice, and is therefore quite a significant prop as it makes multiple appearances throughout the opening.

Planning: Changes To Casting

We decided to slightly change the plot for the film such as the time period in which it is set, and therefore made changes to the characters involved and the actors who portray them.

Stereotypically, women are seen as being the caring and nurturing gender, whilst men are seen as more prone to violent outbursts, therefore more likely to be portraying the role of a psychopath. For this reason, we decided to make the copy-cat killer a counter typical female, Eleanor. We have now casted Leah Mitchell for this role as she is currently studying A level drama, with previous experience from GCSE, meaning that she capable of accurately playing the character.

We also decided to remove the character Ben as we felt that he was irrelevant to the plot and made more sense to have just one main character as the recent serial killer.

Also, Ashley was unable to take part in our filming. Because of this, we casted George Denton to play the role of the original killer, Elijah, instead. George was fit for this role as he had similiar physical characteristics/attributes as to how we pictured Elijah. He is also not shy in front of the camera, which will be an advantage when filming.

Planning: Casting

Correy Fox will be portraying the character James who is one of the three who is planning to recreate the events of the 1976 mass murder. 
Correy is fit for this role as he is of the age group that we are targeting for, Correy also has average looks which will then signify to the audience that anyone can be a killer and you can't tell what people are really like. Correy is also aspiring to be an actor so he will then be able to have a range of facial expressions and a range of vocal tones to help aid him in his role. This also means that Correy would be confident in front of the camera.
James is sarcastic, intelligent, sinister, reserved and a bit of a recluse. He is anti-social and tends to stay away from large crowds of people. Has been bullied prior to becoming a murderer.

Cameron Budworth will be portraying the character Ben who is another one of the teenagers who are planning to recreate the events of the previous killings.

Cameron is fit for this role as he is of the age group that we are targeting. Cameron is also a stereotypical teenager and will fit the role of delinquent/lovable rogue well. Cameron is confident in front of the camera and will be able to act as Ben very well.

Ben is crude, sarcastic, silent, more openly evil, known for being a delinquent, in and out of the Juvenile Detention Centre and always in the police station. Ben is fed up with authority figures and has a general dislike to people in his home town.

Taylor Tillin will be portraying the character Abigail who is one of the victims of the mass murder.Taylor is fit for this role as she is of the age group that we are targeting for. She is also studying Drama and will be able to convey emotions, facial expressions and vocal tones to help aid her in this role. This also means that Taylor will be confident in front of the camera as she does Drama.Emily is a kind and caring young woman who has just started working part-time at a hair dressers and plans on going to college to get a degree in midwifery, but was then brutally murdered by Elijah.

Ashley Paddick will be portraying the role of Elijah who is the original murderer, who's killings are being recreated. 

Ashley is fit for this role as he is of the age group that we are targeting for, he is confident in front of the camera and he studied drama at GCSE level which would aid him as he would have had to have used a range of facial expressions and vocal tones to convey emotion.
Elijah is a mentally unstable person who has been abused and bullied since he first went to school, as a result of being beaten at home and bullied constantly at school, Elijah developed a split personality which then subsequently took over control of Elijah. Elijah's split personality has a superficial charm, a grandiose sense of self-worth, he is a pathological liar, he has a lack of remorse, he also has an emotional shallowness, callousness and lack of empathy. His split also has an unwillingness to accept responsibility for his actions, gets bored easily, he is cunning and manipulative. His split also has an unrealistic long-term goals, he is impulsive and irresponsible.

Planning: Writing A Treatment

The opening starts with a black screen displaying the titles "RAGGED CRIMSON PRODUCTIONS presents". It will then cut to an extreme close up of Eleanor repeatedly cupping a lump hammer. This will be followed by a long shot of her sitting on her bed, mischievously brining the hammer up to her face, whilst staring directly forward. The titles "a film by Vincent O'Grady" will appear on the lower left corner of the screen. Eleanor then proceeds to put the lump hammer down to her side, followed by a swift movement of her picking up a range of  previously cut up images. As this happens, the title "Leah Mitchell" will fade in and out from the top corner of the screen. Eleanor gets up from the bed and begins to walk forward, revealing a wall full of gory images and news articles from previous murders and crime scenes. "Taylor Tillin" will then appear on the side of the screen. You will then see a selection of images from different angles, forcefully being placed on the wall by Eleanor. The titles "George Denton" and "Daniel Angus" will appear at different times whilst the images are being placed on the wall. There will then be an extreme close up of Eleanor caressing photograph of a character called Abigale, a previous victim of a serial killer whom Eleanor has been researching. The camera will track this image as it is placed onto the wall. The text "production design by Jack Whittby" will fade in from the corner of the screen. As this is happening, non diegetic sounds of ghostly whispers will play. The camera will then begin to slowly track out, revealing the full arrangement of images. "Costume design by Margret Donaldson" will fade in from the bottom right, followed by "and Veronica Allen". There will then be a cut to a mid shot of Eleanor admiring her work before she turns to pick up the hammer and walks out of her bedroom door.

 As this fades to black, music will change as a chase scene beings, starting with an establishing shot of Abigale running away from a potential threat. This scene will be in black and white to represent that it is in past tense. As Abigale is approaching the remains of an old building, the titles "Produced by Frederick Trager and Johny Gideon" will appear. Abigale then trips over a pile of bricks as she attempts to run to safety. As this happens, the feet of the serial killer will come into view, showing that he is close behind. The titles "a story by Tony Lucas" and "screenplay by Sharon Donovan" will fade in one after another. The scene then continues with a long shot of Abigale running away from the killer, who appears to be getting closer. Moments later, there is a close up point of view shot of the killer, along with a non diegetic loud thud. The screen will then fade to black, followed  by the title of the film "Day of The Maniac".

Abigale then attempts to escape by running away, but falls to the ground as a result of tripping. She then struggles and fails to get up, before the killer becomes in reaching distance of her. There will then be a point of view shot of the killer hitting Abigale with his weapon; a lump hammer, causing blood to spay up onto his face.

A close up of the killer will show his amused expression as he stands covered in his victim's blood. The camera will then slowly pan down to reveal an extreme close up of the hammer dripping with blood. The screen will then fade to black.

Changes To Location Planning

We were originally going to film a section of our film opening in a field near Ise Lodge, however after some consideration we decided that the quarry would be more of an appropriate setting. Our reasons for this were that it made more sense for the characters to be there because, although it is a rather secluded area, there are noticeable places near by in the distance. We thought that this would create more of an effect, as it shows how Abigail was so close to safety, yet not close enough. We also thought that the old building would provide us with a greater opportunity to get interesting camera angles and shots. 

We have also changed the house in which we plan to film the first half of the opening, due to a character change. This way, the mise-en-scene is more accurate. 

Planning: Location Planning

Location Planning is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work that is shot outside of the studio, the search for a suitable place or "location" outside the studio begins. Location scouts also look for generally spectacular or interesting locations beforehand, to have a database of locations in case of requests.
We will be filming in a bedroom, of an average house, which would empathise how a teenager lives, such as clothes over the floor etc. and how the character who lives there has a stable home life. The house would be that of the one of the three teenagers who turn murderous, so that the audience would get an insight of the murderers lair.
This will be filmed in Correy Fox's house as he is one of the actors in our film and is a typical boy of the targeted audience.  

Another location that will be used is a field near Ise Lodge at dusk to empathise how there would be no where to run and no one to see any danger. We will film here because not many people go there and if we film closer to night time then no one would be out as it is dark to interfere with the filming and this also empathises how no one would be around to help the person in danger.

Planning: Target Audience Feedback

We decided to do some research in order to get an idea as to whether or not our film would appeal to a teenage audience and gathered 50 responses. We did this by creating a survey, consisting of open and closed questions on SurveyMoneky.com, which we then forwarded to every student in years 9 to 13. As a result of this, we gathered a lot of responses, the majority of which were very useful.  

The overall data that we have collected has helped us to really think about what would be a good idea to include in our opening scene because it gave us an insight  into what other teenagers are interested in.

We first asked people what age group they were to gain a better understanding of who our main target audience is. We also wanted compare the results from the follow up questions to see if they varied and if those variations highlighted a pattern linked to their age group.  This would have assisted our decision making on the content for the opening scene of our film.

From the table above, you can see that just over 90% of precipitates were aged between 15-18.

We then thought that it'd be a good idea to find out if they actually enjoyed watching horror films and how often they watched them to see if it's the genre itself that's popular, or if it depends more on whether or not the overall storyline generates interest.

Our results show that the majority of people only watch horror movies if the plot intrigues them. Because of this question, we wanted to know what they like about horror movies and what makes them interesting to see whether or not our film would entice a teenage audience to watch it.  A lot of people said that they don't enjoy watching horror movies at all, which would obviously affect how often they view them. Looking back on the questionnaire, it would have been a good idea to find out what those people don't like about horror movies. This could have given us the opportunity to rethink or slightly adapt our plot to appeal to more people.

For those who do enjoy watching horror films, we asked what it is that they like about them. The question could have possibly been improved when it comes to the wording of it; however we were still able to gather the information that we needed.

We originally decided that the plot for our film would be gory, but considering the fact that the data evidently shows that gore is the least popular subgenre, we thought about including suspense and tension within our opening.  As an option, we added 'other' and asked people to specify what it was. It appears that the responses for this particular question were from those who do not like watching horror films and a few people stating "all of the above".

Since the purpose of the survey was to see how much potential our idea for the opening had, we typed out the plot for the entire film and asked what people's initial thoughts and opinions were and if they would watch it.

Plot: In a small town 40 years ago on the 29th February 1976, a mass murder was committed by a psychotic killer, who skilfully dismembered bodies using a range of different weapons. However, he later committed suicide as he felt that his job had been done. On the 29th February 2016, a group of troubled teens take it upon themselves to recreate the events leading up to and on the day of the original massacre. After years of planning how to creatively kill their victims, they finally decide to go after the remaining relatives of those who escaped the 1976 massacre for what they deemed as "a good laugh". Would anyone survive this time?  

What was your initial response to this synopsis? Would you watch this in your own free time?

Bellow, I have included screenshots of the feedback we received: 

We gained a lot of mixed reviews regarding our idea for the plot, most of which were positive. However, we did come across some constructive criticism, which since then has helped us to improve our ideas. For example, we realised that we had got the dates slightly wrong and therefore, in order for the story line to make since, we had to recalculate them. We also came to realise from these responses that different people have different opinions, meaning that it would be difficult to create something that would impress everyone. Despite this, many of the respondents did in fact say that they would watch it if it was made into an actual film.

The follow up question for this was "Do you think that 'The Leap year' is an appropriate title?” Our reasoning behind this title was that the group of teens wanted to recreate the crime on the exact date as the original murders, which happened to be a leap year. This in turn makes the date have substantial significance to the plot. 

After reading the opinions of those who answered, it appears that the title doesn't give a clear indication as to what the film is about, without an explanation. People have also said that when you think of the words 'leap year', it doesn't make them automatically think of a horror film. Because of this, we thought that it would be best if we were to change the title to 'Day of The Maniac'.

The last thing we wanted to know was what ideas people had for the opening scene, and what they would expect to see within those opening few minutes.

A flash back to the original murders was something that came up in the comment section quite frequently, which is why we have decided to use that idea for our film opening.

Overall, the feedback from our target audience has immensely helped us as it has highlighted the strengths and also the areas in which we could improve on to make our idea appealing to its audience.