Activity Evaluation 4

This mood board has been designed to emphasise the target audience that the opening sequence of The Prophet has been made for.

The target audience we decided would be male and female students aged 15-25 year olds as the theme suits this age particular age gap.This is partly because of the genre and plot of the film. We believe that the film would appeal to both males and females because there is a good variety of different characters in the film i.e. the main character is male but his victims are all females. However the target audience would have depended on the way in which we filmed the opening sequence. If we had decide to do it with a more religious aspect, it may have appealed to an older audience of both male and female. Although, our initial idea was to focus more on the killing of the victims rather than the religious reasons why. We used the 10 Commandments purely as a link between the murders rather than as a focus point of  the film. This would have possibly ruled out older audiences as it has a slightly niche storyline but gives it a horror aspect that people under 25 will enjoy.

The title has been designed so that by looking at the mood board we hope to create an effect which gives away the theme of the opening sequence. For example by looking at this title it becomes obvious that the sequence is thrilling and spooky.

An example of someone who would be interested in our film

This is Georgina, she is nearly 17 years old and is in her first year of sixthfrom in South East London. She enjoys spending time with her friends and listening to music and spends most of her money on music, DVDs and going to concerts and festivals. She listens to varieties of music ranging from indie-rock bands such as Arctic Monkeys to heavier bands like Bring Me The Horizon. She is going to her 4th year at Reading Festival this year with her best friends. Her casual wear would be a short dress with tights or leggings and dyes her hair regularly a variety of different colours. She enjoys shopping in places like Topshop, H&M and New Look.

Her favourite television program is The Big Bang Theory but she is a sucker for horror/thriller films. She loves them so much because she always scares herself watching them, but the suspense makes her want to carry on. She enjoys trying to figure out the plot from the beginning of the film and is clever in the ways that her theory's develop as she tries to work out the stalkers and the killers. However she is not a fan of gore and so a thriller genre like The Prophet is probably more suiting to her. Some of her favourite films are The Usual Suspects and Se7en.

We think our film would be suitable for Georgina because the genre suits her taste and consists of no gore which she particularly despises. The Prophet is targeted for boys and girls under 25 so Georgina would be able to watch the film with a group of friends and it is filled with suspense which will keep her interested. 

Filming Day Two

On Saturday we began to film the rest of our opening sequence, starting at our first location at Spring Park.

Several shots were filmed including shots of the victim hanging from the tree which will includes several shots being edited together as it wasn't safe to have the actor actually hanging. We also composed a tracking shot of the victim's body being carried off and some diegetic sound from other characters in order to give some context to the sequence. 

We then travelled to the next location which was Bethlem Royal Hospital and filmed the tracking shot of the murderer escaping the hospital. 

 

When we were watching back the film several parts had to be cropped as you could see part of the victim's arm holding onto a tree and another at Bethlem as someone else can be seen in the shot. We have also had to put some shots into slow motion in order to lengthen the shots in order to fit with the non-diegetic sound we are planning to lay on top, and for them to look more effective. 

However we have discovered that some shots need to be re-shot in order to get more variation and a piece of music that we were initially going to use has now been removed so we need to look for more music to use.

Film Schedule

We are currently in the process of developing our film schedule. This will ensure that we are organised when we begin filming so we will know what actors, costumes and props will be needed at which points and we can approximate how long particular parts of the filming will take. We are making a different schedule for each of our three locations to ensure we are organised and prepared.

An example of the kind of film schedule we are hoping to produce for each location

As we have started the process of filming during lessons we must begin to finalise our filming schedule. We are in the process of confirming with our actors the new dates and times that we have arranged after the previous problems encountered with our filming schedule.

We are currently discussing our filming options and have decided our best choice to film would be on Saturday 3rd March. We have contacted our actors and are waiting for rsvps on the date. Hopefully this will mean we will be ready to edit our opening sequence this time next week in our lesson on Monday.

Casting Shots

After holding auditions for the roles of the characters we found that the following people were most suitable to their roles;

Murderer:

Jonathan Traynor

Aged 19

We chose Jonny for this role because we felt he was a suitable match to the character as he has a very alternative style and could be seen to have similar traits to the character in real life. There are certain aspects of the actors personality that he will be able to draw on in this very challenging role! He was also willing to work with us and take things seriously as he has already done his A-levels and knows how important this will be towards our final grade.

Policemen:

Thomas Miles

Aged 17

We chose this person because he has a flexible schedule and will therefore be available for filming which will be helpful when it comes to filming. He also lives near the location which will mean that filming can  be on schedule and as he studies media as well he will have an understanding of the shots and reasons for certain shots. 

Victim:

Wynmon Wong

Aged 17

We chose this person because Wynmon is in the group and will therefore know the plot well and know the shots that we have proposed to use, it is easier to use someone in the group as they would already need to be there to assist in filming etc.

Forensic:

Ella Rose Priest

Aged 16

We chose Ella because she studied drama meaning that she has had experience with performing and can be professional, which makes filming easier and efficient. She is confident with filming and good with working in groups. 

Psychiatric Nurse:

Ellen Maslin

Aged 17

We chose Ellen because takes drama A-level and will therefore be professional and already have experience in filming and acting and will therefore be able to act well and minimise the amount of mistakes/takes we may need to film in order to get the most appropriate shots.


Runner:

Layan Akkad

Aged 17

We chose Layan because she is already in our group so she will be there for filming anyway which is efficient and as she has already studied drama she is confident to perform on camera and work with others.

Any updates of casting changes will be recorded as we begin filming.

Shot Experimentation

The most difficult shots we will need to produce is the shot of the victim hanging from the tree. We tested out trying to get the victim to hang from the tree by using a scarf rather than using rope which is what we will be using for the final film. We can't get the victim to actually hang from the tree as this would be dangerous, instead we wrapped the scarf around the victims waist and pulled the rest of the scarf through the collar of her clothing so we still get the look of the victim hanging.

Location Shots

Spring Park

This location can be used in order to present the first victim of the murders. This location is effective and efficient to use to film in as it is quite and will have minimal interruptions and as we will be filming quite early in the morning the setting will portray mystery and isolation as the weather will hopefully be quite dark or foggy and will work well with the surroundings which are loads of trees covering pathways and will make the location look quite remote.

Bethlem Psychiatric Hospital

This location is important as it reflects the murderers unstable mental health and will also reveal to the audience his obsession with religion and also how he is responsible for the murder and there will be nine more. This will make the audience fear him as they do not see his face through out the opening sequence and will create suspense.

The murderers room (A music room in school)

As it is not possible to film inside the hospital it self, we have decided to film in school in one of the music rooms as they are small and claustrophobic making it even more effective at portraying the suddenness and weirdness of the wall in the room. This room also makes it easy to film in as there is
nothing on any of the walls so we can film relatively easily without trying to not film/avoid certain walls as they contain objects. The wall will contain religious items making it look like a shrine and there will also be drawings/pictures and newspaper/words containing the planning of the ten murders.

Final Music Choices

Opening Scene
http://soundcloud.com/blaketothefuture/icy-weather

We have decided to use this music in the opening of our film because it fits well with the mood and tone of our opening sequence and reflects the genre of the film. The eerie tone of the music also gives us goosebumps which is the effect we want to give the audience.

Closing Scene

http://soundcloud.com/shaumon/fantastically-depressing

We have also chosen music to end our opening sequence as the detectives reveal the psychiatric patients cell wall, displaying the plans and designs of the murders/suicides of the 10 victims. The music reflects the mood in the fact that the patient has been exposed and the shock of his plans.

Final Logo Designs

Final Logo Designs on Prezi

Possible Titles

The Prophet
The 10 Messages
Forced
Uncontrollable
Thou shall not
Psychopath

After discussing possible names for the sequence we have decided to use the name 'The Prophet' as it is quite a powerful title and links to the genre and plot of the film. The title represents the delusions that the psychotic man is experiencing of the idea that he is the 'next prophet'.

Initial Logo Designs

Using a combination of the first letters of all our names, we came up with the name FLJW Studios for our film company. With this and the genre of our film, we came up with 3 potential ideas for the company logo.

The first idea was designed because it reflects the genre of the film as it is mysterious and creepy. It also becomes clear by the name 'The Prophet' that someone is watching over him. The black and white colours shows that the film has a very depressing aspect.

The second idea started with a cross because of the religious aspect of the film. With this, we put each letter of the company name in the cross and a rose accross the centre. However, we decided against this idea because we felt it made us look like a "Christian film company" which is not the image we were hoping to put accross.

We liked the rose in our second idea as we felt it could be seen as a dark and mysterious flower, just like the genre of our film. We therefore feel this would reflect the tone of our psychological thriller. Over this, we put the name of the company to show who it was made by.

Screenplay

EXT. SPRING PARK WOODS. 8AM

WOMAN walking dog in the woods. Looks up to see a hanging body and screams.

EXT. SPRING PARK WOODS. 8:30AM

Police arrive on the scene and POLICE OFFICER 1 questions frantic WOMAN.

POLICE OFFICER 1

(reassuring WOMAN)

Are you okay ma'am?

WOMAN

(panicking, barely able to speak, pointing at the body)

Over there!... Over there!

EXT. SPRING PARK WOODS. 9AM

POLICE OFFICER 2 and FORENSIC watch the body being carried off.

POLICE OFFICER 2

What is the situation?

FORENSIC

(reading from clipboard/file)

Name: Karly Anne Hayden

Age: 31

Cause of Death: Still waiting to be identified but was found hanging from a tree in Spring Park Woods at 08:02 am. Suspected forced suicide although her left arm appears to be branded with the words "Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery".

POLICE OFFICER 2
Looks like some kind of religious nut then?

FORENSIC
Most likely.

EXT. GATES OF BETHLEM HOSPITAL. DAY

Flashback of PSYCHIATRIC PATIENT walking out of the gates of psychiatric hospital as he escapes.

PSYCHIATRIC NURSE (V.O)

(reading out the patients file to the police officers)

Name: George Marcus Meadle

Age: 36

Major cases of schizophrenia and a diagnosed psychopath 

He is highly religious and has spent a majority of his time in the "rubber room" due to violent religious outbursts.

INT. PSYCHIATRIC WARD. DAY

POLICE OFFICER 

I know you have all this, but what makes you think its this guy?

PSYCHIATRIC NURSE
(opening the door to patients cell)

Take a look at his room.

PSYCHIATRIC NURSE shows POLICE OFFICERS 1 & 2 the walls of escapee patient's cell. Walls display drawings of plans to kill 10 victims according to the 10 Commandments.

Possible Music Options

As it is not allowed for us to use copyrighted music, we have decided to try and find appropriate music from an unsigned artist from either youtube or soundcloud. The music should be fitting with the psycho thriller genre and should be slightly creepy and unnerving. However if we do not find anything appropriate, we may have to create out own music using garageband.

Opening Music

http://soundcloud.com/blaketothefuture/icy-weather
http://soundcloud.com/ourbandcanbeyourlife-77/fant-omas-rosemarys-baby

Closing Music

http://soundcloud.com/eolicasjanaosevem/creepy

http://soundcloud.com/shaumon/fantastically-depressing

For this scene, we need creepy, jolty music that will help unveil the plans that the police officers find on the psychiatric patients cell wall.

We have also looked at covers of Paramore's song "Decode" by several unsigned artists as we think it would suit the opening sequence of our film well as it is slightly haunting and fits the genre of the film. The original version of this song was also featured in the film "Twilight".

Original cover of "Decode" (Paramore)

Here are several different cover versions of the song by different unsigned artists:

http://soundcloud.com/charlemagnems/decode-cover
http://soundcloud.com/sonnenheld/decode-paramore-cover
http://soundcloud.com/dreic/decode-piano-and-string-cover

Another opening credit that has been inspirational when deciding the genre and plot of our opening sequence is the series "American Horror Story". The music during the opening credits could be a possible option for something similar in our opening sequence.

Target Audience and Plot Development

We decided that the target audience would be male and female aged 15-25. This is partly because of the genre and plot of the film. We believe that the film would appeal to both males and females because there is a good variety of different characters in the film i.e. the main character is male but his victims are all females. However the target audience can depend on the way in which we film the opening sequence. If we decide to do it with a more religious aspect, it may appeal to an older audience of both male and female. Although, our initial idea was to focus more on the killing of the victims rather than the religious reasons why. We have used the 10 Commandments purely as a link between the murders rather than as a focus point of  the film. This will possibly rule out older audiences as it has a slightly niche storyline but gives it a horror aspect that people under 25 will enjoy.

In terms of developing the plot, we are considering altering the ways in which the victims are killed. Initially we planned that a mentally deranged man kills ten people who do not follow the 10 Commandments, however we came to the conclusion that this contradicts the man's agenda as one of the 10 Commandments is "Thou shall not kill". We now believe that it will make more sense for the man to psychologically force the victims into suicide. We will develop this idea more so that we will have a clear idea by the time we compose the opening sequence.

Music and Location Choices

Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJkP2C8Bg6Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCtgTpxgwjc

We chose these two pieces of music as we wanted something classic but creepy, as these will be very affective and reflect the genre of the piece.

Locations

Bethlem Psychiatric Hospital - We thought that possible shots could be used of the killer leaving the hospital and this would make the shots more realistic.

Spring Park Woods - This can be used as a possible setting for the first crime scene which is the opening scene.

Pitch

A psycho thriller inspired by "Seven". A mentally deranged man believes he is the next prophet, killing 10 people who don't follow the 10 Commandments.

Moodboard 3

I chose these images because i think they represent the genre of the film well. The dark dull colours represent a thriller, and the 'psycho' text explains the films character. The picture of a person in woods explains a particular scene which we have in mind which is filmed in a foggy woods. I think looking at this mood board makes the genre become clear. 

Office Space

At the start of Office Space opening sequence they used a font that represented the genre of comedy. Up beat music was used so that we can tell that the audience should find this amusing rather than frustrated like the characters used during the sequence.

The main character was a typical working class man who is shown to be frustrated with the traffic he is stuck in, which shows us that throughout the film he has constant bad luck. The next man shown is portrayed as being weak and timid however he doesn't act it whilst by himself. This specific part provides amusement for the audience, which highlights what may happen during the rest of the film.

The title reflects the opening sequence due to the compact setting of the cars in the traffic jam, this can suggest the main character is not happy with his job.