Media pitch.

Here is the link to our media pitch.

http://prezi.com/qjacuaap-i8h/media-pitch/

Dates for filming.

The dates we have chosen for filming are:

30th January- Test shots of wood area and establishing shots.

13-14th February- Filming the main bulk of our opening, booking the camera out for two days means that we can make sure our filming is okay and looks alright. By the end of february half term we will have finished all our filming meaning that we have about a month to do all our editing.

Script: Work in progress.

As the actors featured in our film are all good friends already we felt that by setting a rigid script may actually hinder the film as the dialoug could come across as unnatural. So we have started to write a basic script from which the actors can create a sort of 'on script improvisation' meaning that they will still get across the meaning of the scene but be able to do it in a way more natural to them.

Animatic of storyboard.

This youtube video is just a rough animatic of our now completed storyboard.

Naming our film.

After much deliberation we have decided to call our film Out Of Service. We chose this name as we feel it fits in with the various themes shown in our film. As our film is a Teen horror we knew that things such as mobile phones and social networking should be prominent so that our audience can relate better to the film, developing this idea further led to us basing quite a lot of the film around the victims receiving threatening texts from an unknown person but not being able to call anyone for help and this then to the idea of calling it Out Of Service as the protagonists in our film will be. We also felt that although it was intriguing and quite dramatic it wasn't too over the top and suited our film better than, say, a one word title would as they are commonly used in big Hollywood blockbusters. After taking to various members of our target audience they told me that the title sounds exciting and that they would want to find out more about it.

Music in Horror Films.

Whilst researching music that we could use in our opening of a film I came across this very helpful website which gives details on music and sound effects commonly used in professional horror films.
http://www.eng.umu.se/monster/john/sound_music.htm

BBFC- Certificate Ratings.

The British Board of Film Classification.

Funded by the film industry the BBFC's job is to classify all films, DVD's, videos and even some video games.

There are a number of different classifications that a film could be and based on these our group has decided that our film should be rated a 15. This is because we will be targeting an audience of 15 and over as our genre is Teen Horror. A 15 allows us to be quite liberal when it comes to certain topics such as drugs and alcohol and it will also not hinder the violence planned to be in our film whilst still letting our film be shown to people younger than 18, meaning our film should get more profit as it has a bigger target audience.


To help us come to this conclusion we went on the official BBFC website to find the detailed classification for a 15 movie. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/15-2/

	Universal	All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children over 4.
	Parental Guidance	All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8. May contain mild language and sex/drugs references. May contain moderate violence if justified by context (e.g. fantasy).
	12A	Cinema only. Introduced in 2002.Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Those aged under 12 years are only admitted if accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 years, at all times during the motion picture. However, it is generally not recommended that children under 12 years should watch the film. Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, moderate swear words, infrequent strong language and moderate violence/sex references.
	12	Home media only since 2002. 12A-rated films are usually given a 12 certificate for the VHS/DVD version unless extra material has been added that requires a higher rating. Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. Films in his category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence.
	15	Only those over 15 years are admitted.Nobody younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game,or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong language and one use of very strong language, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and undetailed sex activity.
	18	Only adults are admitted.Nobody younger than 18 can rent or  buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/ sex references along with strong sexual activity is also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context.

Location Scouting!

Here are some pictures taken when I went to possible locations to film our main task. All the places are easily accessible, whilst this means we will have to plan carefully when to film as to not capture any of the public it also means that ourselves and our actors will have no difficulty getting there.

I think this part of The Thicket would be a perfect place to film our establishing shot as although it is more open plan and field more that wood it gives a good sense of where the film will be set and lets the audience see that they are in a wooded area. It means we can fit a lot of trees into our shot and show all the surroundings well.

 For the interior shots of the woods I found another part of the woods nearby to be more fitting for our needs as the trees are denser, giving it a more wild atmosphere which would suit our film well, as we don't want it to look like a public place. I also think that it would be more interesting to film here as there are many different type of trees, bushes and plants.

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane.

All the boys love Mandy Lane

00:23-02:27

This film starts with a black screen and then the title of the film appears slowly using a ‘fade in’ effect.  The words ‘Mandy Lane’ appear larger on the screen making them seem more important, the use of white words on a black background means that they are more prominent and easy to read whereas when words are over an image it can make them slightly illegible. The font also subtly suggests a horror. The music playing over the titles at this point is quite stereotypical for horror films as it is quite unnerving, there is a soft piano playing high pitched notes, which is suddenly cut off by what sounds like a slash of a knife and a distorted girl’s scream. Simultaneously the words ‘Mandy Lane’ get a blood splattered effect on the white, which instantly emphasises the fact that this is a horror, and possibly quite a gory ‘slasher’.  A drop of blood then drips down from the words and the camera tilts down to follow it.

As the camera tilts the screen fades to white and there is the sound of a bell ringing, instantly signifying a secondary school.  The camera continues to tilt down and there is now a bright orange exit sign right in the middle of the screen, making it extremely noticeable. At this point there is a non-diegetic song being played, In Anticipation of your Suicide- Bedroom Walls, it’s quite a calm, soft song, which contrasts to the usual rush and fast pace of a school when the bell rings.  We next see a door being open and two young boys jogging out of it, one looks back and waves as if saying goodbye to someone, the fact that these are teenagers reinstates the assumption that this is a school and the age of these boys allows us to presume that the main characters will be teenagers. As the camera continues to move back, on a dolly, a girl steps into the frame. This shot is a close up and at this point we cannot see the girls face; only her chest and hair, and this creates a certain enigma about her.

The following shot is a close up of a boy turning his head to gaze at something as the camera pans past him, this creates the impression that he is looking at the girl as she walks past. This makes the girl seem important as people are stopping to look as her and makes the audience take notice of her more.  The next shot is a close up on her face and she is positioned quite central within the frame.  She is quite stereotypically attractive she has long blonde hair and minimal make up. This stereotype is commonly used in horror’s to mark ‘the victim’ as it implies a kind of innocence.  The background behind her has been blurred slightly drawing the focus to her even more; however you can still see that the people in the background are watching her as she walks.    

After this there is a variety of close up shots on different people, all showing them turn their heads to look at her.  The people used here are a mixture of sexes and races which implies that everyone at the school, no matter who they are, stops to look at her. This raises many questions about her and what she has done to gained so much obvious attention.  This time when the camera straight cuts back to her the camera shot is a close up even more focused on her face, possibly so you can see more of her facial expressions. The camera tracks her for a while as she walks and shows her playing with her hair, in a stereotypical feminine way.  She also looks as though she is searching for something, or someone as her eyes dart around a lot and she tilts her head.

In the next shot the camera is tracking her from behind which again signifies her femininity and sexualises her more than the previous shots which seemed to show more of her purity and youth.  She then meets up with a friend who has been waiting for her and there is a long shot of them both walking down the hallway, which is now suddenly deserted.  This is quite an eerily effect as the lighting has been specially selected to be quite white and blue, making it seem like a cold, detached atmosphere. This is sustained through the use of instrumental music  which gives a sense of foreboding.    

Contrasting to this the next few shots are of them walking outside, where it is bright and sunny, the colours used here are very warm.  We then see a car pull up towards them and the next shot is a close up on the drivers face, he also is a common stereotype used in films, he’s blonde, tanned and looks quite ‘all American’.  He calls out Mandy Lane, and after a while the girl replies, this is the first conformation we get that she is the title character. Her hesitance in replying suggests that she doesn’t know why he is talking to her or doesn’t want to reply so already we are getting hints to what their relationship is. There is then some dialogue between Mandy Lane and the people in the car, where the boys ask her to come with them, with obvious jealousy from the girls. This sets the scene for the rest of the film as it shows strains in the character’s relationships which could be vital later on in the film.

The opening two minuets end with Mandy Lane agreeing to go with them and taking her friend with her, although neither he, nor the characters in the car seem happy about it.

Research and Planning.

 Evidence of our initail planning and development of our ideas.