Planning : Shotlist

Shot No.	Location	Shot Type	Movement	Angle	Length	Dialogue	Description/Action	Characters
1	Street	CU	Still	High shot	5 seconds	None	The title of the movie is going to appear on the puddle and will disappear when a character steps on it.	None
2	Street	CU	Tilt shot	N/A	5 seconds	J: Only a few miles away from it now. L: At last It’d better be worth it.	There will be a tilt shot going upwards on Jay, to show his power within the group. The name of the actor will appear on the screen.	Jay
3	Street	ECU	Still	N/A	3 seconds	J: It will be stop worrying man.	After the tilt, the camera will stay on Jay’s face to show his facial expressions to the audience.	Jay
4	Street	MS	Tracking Shot	N/A	4 seconds	Sarah: Look at William, bless him. We’re not even there but he’s trembling like a leaf.	Sarah walking up to Jay and talks about William. The name of Sarah's actor will appear on the screen.	Logan, Sarah and Jay
5	Street	CS	Tracking shot	N/A	2 seconds	J: What’s up Willy	There will be a leaf falling down and Willy will step on it which represents their fate.	None
6	Street	CU	Tracking shot	N/A	8 seconds	J: Why aren’t ya talking? W: I do not have anything to say.	Close-up on Jay and William. The name of William's actor will appear on the screen.	Jay
7	Street	MS	Tracking shot	N/A	4 seconds	L: Speechless already? You definitely will have something to say when you’ll see it.	Midshot on Logan. The name of Logan's actor will appear on the screen.	Logan
8	Street	MS	Tracking shot	N/A	2 seconds	J: Shut up Logan.	Midshot on Jay and William	William and Jay.
9	Street	LS	Tracking shot	N/A	5 seconds	None	Long shot from the woods, watching the characters walking away.	All characters
10	Street	CU	Tracking shot	N/A	15 seconds	S: Why is this street so quiet? L: It could be quieter if you shut up. S: Aha funny. S: There’s no signal either.	Midshot on Sarah and Logan.	Sarah and Logan.
11	Street	CU	Tracking shot	N/A	6 seconds	J: William? W: Yes? What is your biggest phobia?	Close up on Jay’s face.	Jay
12	Street	MS	Tracking shot	N/A	3 seconds	None	Midshot on Logan and Sarah who turn their head to hear William’s answer.	Logan and Sarah
13	Street	ECU	Still	N/A	7 seconds	W: Erm, I’d say ghosts but since they don’t exist, I’d say loneliness.	The extreme close up reveals the fear William is trying to hide inside and also his facial expression.	William
14	Street	MS	Still	N/A	4 seconds	None	Mid shot on Jay, Logan and Sarah who gently laugh without William noticing.	Jay, Logan and Sarah.
15	Street	MS	Tracking shot	Low shot	15 seconds	L: Wait, let me tie my laces. J: Hurry up it’s getting dark. L: I’ll catch you up.	Tracking shot on Logan tying his shoelaces, low shot on his shoes. Logan will tie his shoelaces in a manner as if he is trying to choke someone out.	Logan
16	Street	Long shot	Tracking shot	N/A	15 seconds	None	The villain walks up to Logan from behind, grabs his face, and pulls him out of the camera.	Logan and villain.

I was responsible of making the shot list. A shot list is a list given to the film production which indicates the the sequences of scenes being shot for the day. As for us, we are only required to film one scene, the opening of the film. I included everything there is to acknowledge during the main photography, which will make the process go faster and/or smoother. That is the shot number, the location of where it is being shot, the shot type, the movements and angle utilised, the length of the scene, the dialogue, a brief description of what will happen, and the actors who will appear in the shot. 

Planning: Costume, Make-Up and Props

Costume: 

For our first male character we decided to give him a smart look, which reflects his personality, he's the most sensible in the group. 

Here is a brief idea of what he will wear.

For the other 2 males they are both wearing more of a laid back outfit, yet is appropriate this will contain things like white shirt, trainers, and black jeans as well as a school jacket. One wears a jacket the other has their sleeves rolled up.   

Here's what we think our  costume will look like.

For our girl character we decided to put her in a casual outfit and and will reflect her laid back personality and the fact that she is a tomboy.

This is what we imagine the girl will wear.

For our props we have decided to use the common the phone. We decided to use this as it is a common thing in our times. It also allows us to portray the well used film convention of having no signal. We have chosen this phone as it is a very popular phone used in 2013.

This is the phone we have chosen (iPhone 4s)

As our characters are going camping they will have to have some camping bbs to store they supplies in them. This will help convince our audience that they are going camping as they have the suitable equipment. 

This would be the ideal bag for the characters to use as it can fit all their equipment which would include sleeping bags, a hurricane lamp and a tent.

For our villain we decided to give the skin tone a light grey colour as it shows to the audience that it is not a normal person. This could suggest that she has been dead for months. Although the audience will only see the hands of the villain. We will use grey paint on someone's hands.

This would be the ideal hand for our introduction

Note: The planning for the mise-en-scene was made by all three members of the group but mainly by Oliver. 

Planning: Casting

I was in charge of doing the casting. I decided to cast several people so I had a wide range to choose from. To make our casting easier, I decided to create brief descriptions of the characters so we know exactly who we are looking for:

Jay: Jay is the "leader" of the group. He is sixteen and considered as a "womanizer". He likes a challenge and travels whenever he can with his father. As he is the youngest of 3 brothers, they often bully him and he likes to take frustration out on Logan and Sarah. He can occasionally be seen acting nice or sympathetic towards William, as he reminds him of himself. For Jay, we are looking for someone who looks a tall boy who looks confident, can seem patronizing at times, but also lenient.

Logan: Logan is the "clown of the group" as well as the main bully. He is sixteen and is in William's form class. Logan's main hobby is bullying William. He looks upon Jay, but sometimes acts arrogant against him so he can have some "pride". He has a love/hate relationship with Sarah, but remains really close with her. For Logan, we are looking for someone who seems fearless, careless and has a good sense of humour.

Sarah: Sarah is the only girl of the group. She is considered as a modern-day tomboy. She only hangs around with Logan at school, with whom she has a close relationship. She does not have many other friends, but reads horror books a lot. Sarah and William would occasionally have conversations about books, but that happens rarely. For Sarah, we are looking for a girl who can look like tomboy and act like one as well as fierce and quite quirky.

William: William is the "underdog" of the group. He is a modern-day nerd and is very intelligent. He does not have many friends, as he'd rather stay at the library and read history books. He is the main target of Logan, who constantly mocks him at sixth-form. William is an only child and comes from a very wealthy family. He also sometimes can act in a condescending manner, which might be the main reason as to why Logan bullies him. For William, we are looking for someone who looks innocuous, and can behave courteous effortlessly.

We needed one girl, and three boys for our project, this is all the people we considered casting: 

I considered Evie because she's a great actress, co-operative as well as flexible. For the female character, we need a tom-boy looking girl and Evie could potentially be cast for the role.

I considered Panashe because he's confident as well as reliable. If he was to be in our opening; he would be most likely to play Jay, the "bully", as his physique is more appropriate for the role.

This is John. John is a trustworthy individual, as well as a good actor. I considered John to play Logan, as he is comfortable playing a rebellious character. He also has a strong figure, which would improve credibility, as Logan and the rest of the group "bully" William. However, I also thought that John could play William, the "victim" of the group, as he is a quiet person. Playing someone with a similar personality would be easier as he will practically not have to act or pretend, and his acting will seem more natural.

I considered Agne because she is a reliable individual. To play Sarah, the only girl of the group, I wanted a girl who had a strong personality to keep up with the three other boys, especially Jay and Logan, and Agne's personality would be perfect to fit Sarah's. 

This is Titus. I considered Titus as he is a flexible actor. I thought that he would be better at playing Logan or Jay, as the are the "bullies" of the group, and Titus can easily interpret a bully. 

This is Jake. Jake studies Drama for A-Levels, thus why I've considered him. He is a flexible and friendly character. I thought he would be suitable playing William, as he would be more credible. 

After long deliberation, we decided that Evie will be playing Sarah, Titus will be playing Logan, that Jake will be playing Jay, and that John will be playing William. 

Planning : Location

The task was completed by Nicole as it was her responsibility to complete the location planning in our action plan.

We decided to do location planning as it will help us evaluate our options for the best location for our short film. Completing this task in the early stages of our planning will allow us to find more suitable location allowing us to create a more realistic and scary film. Doing location planning also allows us to avoid the last minute panic of were to film. Doing it now will allow us to take in more detailed decisions like what time will be best for filming in this location as the angle of the sun could effect our footage. Or if we do it to late we will not have enough light to see our characters. In each different location it will have its different pros and cons. Doing our location planning in a early stage will allow us to prepare for the cons of the location and enhance the pros.

Possible locations:

We considered this location because it could represent the house the characters were talking about all along. It is also isolated, and isolated locations are a must in horror films. It looks unsafe and deteriorated which will make the story more believable.  The cons about this location is the lack of light. We might not be able to shoot there as we have to lighting equipment we could utilise. As it will be shot in Winter, we might have a hard time filming there. As well as the lighting, we want a location where the actors speak about the house before they get there. Shooting at the house directly will make the audience perplexed and confused.

We considered this location because it already tells the audience that the characters are jetting off to an adventure. As well as being a secluded location, it also is an open land, so the characters can talk about the house at the right beginning. However, we wanted a secluded with gravel, so when the villain walks towards one of the characters, we could add footsteps sound effects to make it more frightening. On top of that, we need a location where the villain can hide whilst the characters are conversing. This location contains no suitable hiding places for the villain unfortunately.

We considered this location because it is enclosed and looks frightening. Its unusual structure also might tell the audience that the characters have not thought this trip through. There is also several puddles, which is a plus for us as we intend on using one during the first 10 seconds of the opening. The main con of this location is that it might be too small for us to film there. Moreover, it might be too dangerous, as there is a lot of debris scattered on the location.

We considered this location as it looks abandoned and clear of any problems we might encounter such as people. It involves the house but doesn't give too much away. There also is a vast amount of plants, which could potentially be useful for villain. However, the location might be considered too small and quite challenging, as the plants might be too distracting.

We considered this location because it looks obscure and uncertain. There are also vast woodland surrounding it; so the villain can be following them without them noticing. The path is also bespattered with mud, so the audience will instantly get the cold atmosphere. The main con about this location is the actual filming. With all this mud, the actors and the filming crew might have a hard time co-operating and the location might not be 100% safe.

Planning : Storyboard

Note: Oliver was responsible for completing the storyboard.

What is the purpose of a story board?

I believe the purpose of a storyboard in the pre-production section is to allow the directors and producers to visualise the film. This will allow them to spot any areas of improvement or any areas that could be scrapped. This will help them perfect the film to the best of their ability by getting rid or improving some dull areas. A standard storyboard contains many areas. One of these areas is the picture itself. The picture allows the person to visualise the film before it is made. Another section included is the camera angle and movement. This contains a mixture of shots and movements for the user to see allowing them to visualise the camera moment and help them decide if there is a better alternative. A sound section is also included in the storyboard. This will contain both diegetic and non diegetic sound for the user to read. It can also help the user decide if this is the right sound for that section of the film or if it's not suitable for that particular scene.

Here is a small example of a storyboard:










Our storyboard: 

For our story board I tried to create the same design as the example above by including all elements like the camera angles and movement, both diegetic and non diegetic sound, a visual image and a title.

This is our storyboard, it contains the information we think is needed for our short film. We used a storyboard as we believe that it makes things easier when it comes to the final filming. This storyboard gives our group a foundation to build from to complete our filming. It contains factors such as pictures. These pictures give us a visual image of what we want the certain shot to look like. We have also included the camera angle and movement. This section will allow us to determine what angel and movement will set suit that shot making it more enjoyable for our target audience. Another section it includes is sound. This allows us to get a remote idea of what we want to hear from the shot including both non and diegetic sounds.

Planning: Screenplay

Below is the screenplay of our opening sequence. I was in charge of making it. A screenplay is writing that is intended to be turned into film. It's an indication of what you want the audience to see and hear in that big dark room called a cinema should the film ever be made.

SCREENPLAY

“DORMEZ MES ENFANTS”

By

Brian Oblitey

Oliver Iarrobino

Nicole Storey

December 12, 2013

The scene will start with a black screen accompanied by non-diegetic sound of woodland.

The main conversation is going to occur on a deserted street.

Jay: Only a few miles away from it now.

Logan: At last, it’d better be worth it.

Jay: It will be, stop worrying man.
Logan: I ain't worried, I'm just checking.

Sarah (whispering to Jay and laughing): Look at William, bless him. We’re not even there yet but he’s trembling like a leaf!

Jay (approaching William): What's up Willy? Why aren’t ya talking?

William (continues staring at the ground, pauses): I do not have anything to say.

Logan: Speechless already? You definitely will have something to say when you’ll “it”.

Jay: Shut up Logan.

Logan: I was joking calm down, banter innit?

*Long shot from the woods, watching the characters walking away*         

Sarah: Why is this street so quiet?

Logan: It could be quieter if you shut up.

Sarah (gently pushes Logan in the arm, sarcastically): Aha, funny.

*Sarah holding her phone up in the air*

Sarah: There’s no signal either!

Jay: William?

William: Yes?

Jay: What is your biggest phobia?

*Sarah and Jay turn their heads to William*

William: Erm… I’d say ghosts, but since they don’t exist, I’d say loneliness.

*Jay, Logan and Sarah laugh but William does not notice* 

Logan: Wait, let me tie my laces *pushes William out of his way*

*Logan bends over and ties his laces*

Jay: Hurry up, it’s getting dark.
Logan: I'll catch you up.

*A Russell sound is heard but the character does not notice*

 *Gravel sounds are heard as Logan finishes tying his laces up*

*Hands appear from behind and grab Logan*

*Logan disappears, the camera cuts*