Alright.

I've finished.
I really, really hope that I've finished.

Technology Talk.

Well. I operated my Samsung L201 point and shoot digital camera on the record setting to film the filmable parts of my film. For some shots, I had to utilise a tripod, which attached to the base of said camera.

To record the voiceover, after trying to use multiple different microphones to no avail, I settled on using the microphone that was built into a Logitech Webcam, and spoke directly into that. The program I used to record my voice was Microsoft Recorder, as other more advanced programs did not work. I found this to be ironic.

I imported the files using a USB cable, to a file, and then to Adobe Premiere Pro 4 where I placed them in a new document. I placed the video files into the program, realised they would not work properly, found an online file converter and converted them, and placed them back into the program. I placed them in roughly the right area, and began editing. After cutting some of the video files using the cut tool, and placing the explosion gifs in between them, I brought in a tint feature from the video colour effects menu. This made every image black and white. I continued to put everything in the right place.

I then added the song The Beginning is The End is The Beginning by The Smashing Pumpkins. This song went on for far too long, and I had to fade it out, using the fade tool. After this, I made a title screen, with a white barkground and the word "Title" fading in, and then back out. I used the same fade feature on this as I did the song. I ran through the film, and as I was happy with it, I exported it using Adobe Decoder.

I then saved the file to a USB, which was then unplugged from the computer.

I didn't use that many technologies while filming, as I didn't need to. The natural light and the black and white effect made my movie look dark enough, and removing the background noise made it seem stranger and more clinical.

Review times.

I'm really pleased by how my film has turned out. After hating it with a passion at least twice, and half heartedly hating it once, being happy with it is a big deal. The black and white aspects actually looked really good, and helped with the explosion pictures already being in that colour scheme. Cutting these explosions into the walking looked really good, and added to the idea that the character is insane and that during the movie, anything could happen. Foreshadowing in the form of mushroom clouds. Even the song, with it's slow tune and droning lyrics helped this feel of pointlessness and nihilism.
The close ups of Annamaries hands in the water is pretty effective, and she was a very good corpse. The place we filmed that shot was perfect, with a small stream and a dark tunnel under a bridge. It was really creepy and strange, and possibly the perfect place to dump a body. It looked strangely realistic.
People are yet to see my film, so I have had no feedback, but I have good feelings. I want to have good things said about my film. Please be nice.

Exam Reflection

Well. I can make excuses as to why my performance was fantastically poor, but really, I just wasn't prepared enough.
It is my fault. The amount of study I did wasn't enough. My writing didn't exactly make sense. I did not conclude what I wrote. ETC ETC ETC.


TO FIX THIS: I will study a whole heap more, formulate my ideas before the exam and be FOCUSED. Perhaps I will have a coffee before it.

PRODUCTION TASKS

Task Four - Crew and Talent

• The Crew consists of Myself. I am director, writer, camera man, sound technician. The sun is lighting.
• The Talent is Annamarie, in the role of Dead Girl. Photos of my Mother, Father, and two others, in the role of Mother, Father, Sister and Killer.

      
Task Five - Production Schedule

•  As I am semi-weather dependent, I will be filming when there is a heavy cover of cloud. If this is not possible, I will film in the evening.
• I will film the corpse scene on any day without rain.
• Anything else will be done on either day.
• I will record the voiceover when I have sufficient voice recording equipment EDIT: I now have this equipment.

           
Task Six - Art Department

• Props -
  Radiohead - OK Computer
  A picture of Friedrich Nietzsche

• Costume -
  Character: Black boots, black skinny jeans, large grey jacket
  Dead Girl: Whatever Annamarie wears on the day.

     
Task Seven - Locations, Permissions

• The places I will be filming are my house, a common street, a public park, and out the window of a moving vehicle. I do not believe I need permissions for any of these.

Treatment, as of right now.

The word "Title", in black, underlined, fades in on a bright white background. It shakes around a bit. Then everything fades out to two legs in black skinny jeans, hanging above the ground, in a park.

A deadpan voiceover speaks as the legs begin to swing back and forward. "Hello. I am your narrator. I'm assuming you'll be watching me for a while, so...here are a few things about to my life."

"This is my Mother." An eye flashes up on the screen "Father." Another eye, different this time. "Sister." Another eye.

"Aren't we just the perfect nuclear family??" The sarcasm is overwhelming. Audience members might faint.

"This is my favourite writer." A close up of Friedrich Nietzsche face. His eye, perhaps.

"This is my favourite CD" A close up of the right hand corner of Radiohead's Ok Computer

"This is my house" A close up of a doorknob

"And this...this is the dump we all live in."  A close up of the word "TOWN" in a Newspaper.

Cut back to the legs swinging slowly.

Voiceover states "There is nothing to do here, except stand around dying of alcoholism or trying to get out."

"Although...there was this one girl..." Another eye flashes up  

"Did you see her?? Did you think she was pretty?? Everyone did...Someone...too much, because she's dead now." One last eye flashes up.

Cuts back to the park, the legs jump down, and walk off, revealing Character, who walks off.

The camera then spends a large amount of time facing down, following Character's footsteps. He crosses grass, roads, walks along gutters, in a straight line on the curb. Waits by the bus stop for a while.

The bus arrives. The camera is pointed out the window.

He gets off the bus.

Walks around more.

Follows a path.

Cut to the shot of the body under the bridge. The camera lingers.

Whilst this is happening, it is interchanged with pictures of explosions and fire based disasters. Hindenberg, nukes, etc.

STYLE:

Everything to be black and white, it's more mysterious that way. Also, for the noir stereotype.

A bunch of close-up shots

Low and high angled shots

Never seeing the main characters face

Big jacket for the main character, makes him look anti-social.

No natural sound effects, only voiceover and Smashing Pumpkins song The Beginning is The End is The Beginning

Script.

Character: Hello. I am your narrator.
                   I'm assuming you'll be watching me for a while, so...here are a few things about to my life.
                   This is my Mother. Father. Sister.
                   Aren't we just the perfect nuclear family??
                   This is my favourite writer.
                   And this is my favourite CD.
                   This is my house...
                   And this...this is the dump we all live in.
                   There is nothing to do here, except stand around dying of alcoholism or trying to get out.
                   Although...there was this one girl...
                   Did you see her??
                   Did you think she was pretty??
                   Everyone did. Someone...too much, because she's dead now.

As I hate what I've come up with so far, I have left it for a week.

And today, I returned to thinking about it.
The sudden realisation that leaving it for a week was a stupid idea made me think harder, as I now had time restraints.
This lead me to think that I must make everything simplier.


I will use silhouettes.
I will hang up a sheet, and do things behind it.
This also means I can voice dub it over later.
I feel that this well be great.

EDIT
I have gone back to my original idea. Hah.

Concept Paragraph (with edits.)

My idea is a sort of Film Noir-Indie film. That sounds pretentious. AWKWARD PEOPLE DOING NOIR THINGS

I've decided to do this in black and white. Mostly because black and white is cool, and film-noiry. It also means I have to think about how colour will look when I take it away, which I really like having to think about. I am thinking of naming the main character Bridge. It just seems to fit. I also feel that other than a voiceover, there will be no set dialogue. This means I can do it myself if I find no one else.

The idea behind it is a kind of flashback-is-it-real-is-a-dream deal. Someone will be seducing the rather awkward main character. Not even straight up seducing, just being in his house and being flirty, and he's noticing these small things like he's been in love with this person for a very long time. Noticing these little things.And they're just oblivious to how he feels.

I wish to invoke some kind of feelings in this. I'm not really sure what. Suspense?? A feeling of pity toward the character?? A feeling of "oh hey I've totally felt this about someone, and they don't even know I exist". Is that sympathy or empathy.

I wish the audience to be shocked by the twist that is the end of my opening scene. A little bit sad, and maybe a little bit hurt. I want it to be a personal experience. I want the audience to know that Bridge is in love with this person, and this person has no idea who he is. But also to know the Bridge isn't creepy, he's just fallen in love over a period of time.

This guy introduces himself as the narrator ("Hello, I am ____ and I will be your narrator for today"), breaking the fourth wall, and then introduces this other character, ("And this is god/goddess here is ____, the only person to ever make me stop and turn") and then he describes them and what they are doing during last time he saw them/ first time he got close to them. It then jumps to him looking at them, dead.

EDIT: I have more or less gone with a totally different idea. It now follows this guy, who hates everything, and knows where the corpse of a girl is. If it was longer, it would deal with the fact that this girl has died and no one really cares, even though she was one of the most popular people in the small town. Horror-noir film. It keeps the black and white aspect, and the opening line.

It will still be a voice over, but instead of an awkwardyoung man being seduced, it will be a strange child who does not enjoy where he is. In fact, he hates it. He openly hates it.

I almost want the audience to be alienated from the character, and think that he is the killer, just because he is cynical and cold towards everything. He'd mention how someone in his family died mysteriously and hint that he was involved, but really it was liver cancer or something.

I want the audience to want to see more. Having grabbed their attention, I want them to ask questions. Questions are good.

The Killer...BEING UNKNOWN Describe and Explain COMBINED. Analyse sneaks in a little bit in some places.

O: O: O: O: O:

Hello there.
Today, let's talk about Killers. Being...UNKNOWN.
This often happens in Horror films, to increase the fear. The killer not only escapes, but could be absolutely any person walking down the street. This carries the fear off into the real world, outside of the cinematic area, and having the fear haunt you for much longer than the actual film is extremely terrifying. This is shown in "The Tingler" , where the reason everyone is dying IS TOTALLY UNKNOWN. But when it is identified, it is revealed to be in everyone, and practically unkillable.
The film uses something the director named "Percepto" to break the fourth wall, and bring the horror right into the theatre. This Perceptop Effect was installing buzzers into the chairs, which would vibrate, and TINGLE. This must have scared the hell out of the audience, as they would have been in anticipation for the entire film, especially after being told by the director that they "may experience a tingling sensation". This had never been used before, and excluding gimmicky, awful, effect driven "4D" movies at Disney World etc, has never been used since.

The aspect of not knowing the identity of the killer is also all over the film Halloween, as the killer escapes, AND survives being stabbed three times, shot five times, and falling off a balcony. Whilst this lines everything up for ninety sequels, it truely scares the audience. Coupled with the heavy breathing right at the end, before the credits, it could be a little reference to the Percepto Effect, making the killer RIGHT BEHIND YOU, or so it feels. It  develops this idea that he can be found anywhere, and he has no diverse motive, so he could kill you, right now. You know his name, but the flash of his face you see, covered in shadow, is not even enough to pick him out of a crowd. But, if you did...the horror that would come across your face would surely alert him to your awareness.

Then you'd die. Obviously.

At the beginning of the film, viewing the world through the eyes of the killer, forces the audience to directly take part in the action, the intense stabbing of a girl. AFTERWARDS You find out the the mind you were just looking out of is a small, blonde, angelic child, who is not only younger than everyone watching, but is also the brother of the young female butchered moments before. This is a little bit scaring, as your brain acknowledges, that you just took part in a murder. A little bit. That's what I got anyway. Deal with it.

That's all I"ve got right now. I'll put on a little bit more, I"m sure.