Cast

We were lucky enough to find our cast very easily! My partner’s family were willing to act in our film opening which saved us a lot of time and hassle. They live just down the road from the beach where we wanted to film which made things very easy. They were also willing to drive us to the filming destinations as well as co-operate in filming at their house when leaving for the beach.

The family consists of a Mother (Becky), Father (Phil), Son (Alex) and Daughter (Charlie). They are a typical modern middle-class family which is ideal for our film opening as it matches the plan and story line. They are also quite confident which was very good as they acted well which gives our film opening a professional appearance.

We dressed the family in clothes that we had chosen in order to fit our storyboard and plan as it is important to portray the message in our media product. It was essential for Charlie to wear the red coat and dress for her innocent look. We also dressed her in white socks and black school shoes to add to her innocent appearance as well as her pig tails that we tied up with red ribbons.

The coat that we had for Charlie is one that I borrowed from a friend’s sister. It was size 8-9 which is a couple of years younger than Charlie’s actual age, however we managed to squeeze her into it and pull of the character looking young and innocent. 

Filming

The weather for out filming day was perfect, it was not windy and the sun was shining. However it was not too hot for our actors to wear the costume we had decided on. The actors we used are my partners’ family which worked well as they were willing to help out wherever possible. They also agreed to be filmed at their house and were willing to drive around to get to the destinations we wanted to film at. The surrounding area of their house was perfect for our film as we were able to shoot the car traveling to the beach as the roads were not busy, meaning we were able to take several shots of the car coming up and down the road. This was to our advantage as we were able to take several shots of the same place in order to have a good amount of shots to choose from, making it easier to edit together. The beach was not too busy and was the perfect condition for filming. It did not take too long to get all of the footage together as all of the things we had in mind to film were all at the same beach. We were also lucky enough to come across a police car with two police officers present. They were kind enough to stand and talk whilst we filmed them and then drive away with the sirens on for us to include in our opening.

Sound research

We watched clips on youtube of films with the same genre to see the sound effects used to create suspense and to represent different emotions. We recognised that ghost like sounds and ‘rush’ sound were used to create this which helped us know what to look for.

Originally, we were going to have church music and choirs for the sound when the family is walking along the beach, however we decided this was too sinister and didn’t fit. Therefore we decided to use a piano based piece of music which is more light-hearted and represents a happier feel for when the siblings are running across the sand.  

We knew that we would need ambience type music and other sound effects to emphasise the kidnapping and to represent the emotions of fear and horror, therefore we had to find them. Being that most of the songs are copyrighted and protected, we looked on internet sites that offered free sound effects, royalty free. The main two sites we looked at were ‘freeSFX’: http://www.freesfx.co.uk/ and ‘freesound’: http://www.freesound.org/  where we got the ambience music and the small sound effects such as the ‘ghost noise’ for the rush of suspense when Charlie disappears round the corner. We also needed to find a siren sound effect for when the police car drives away as we did not manage to capture it when filming. These sound sites proved to be very helpful and accommodated us for everything we needed. 

Mood Board

Mood board

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Preparation for shooting day...

We have decided on a date to shoot, therefore we are acting upon things in preparation for a smooth filming day.

Costume

The girl who will appear in our film opening will be wearing a red coat and white tights with black shoes and ribbons in her hair. This represents the innocent look as well as the danger that is anticipated. We will be purchasing these items from a charity shop or a low cost store to save money. The idea of the charity shop also contributes to a less modern type of clothing. We are hoping to find a worn in coat that looks as though it has been worn by the girl a lot and is not shiny or glossy as this would disrupt the mood of the film. The white tights and the black shoes represent the stereotypical look of the girl as young, happy and innocent.

Filming

We had a practise day, making sure we are clear on how to use all of the equipment properly and planning out how we are going to use it for each shot. We made sure all of the equipment we need fits together properly and works well to save the expected panic on the morning of filming!

We have also written out a filming schedule so we know what we are filming and at what times in order to be able to fit everything in without rushing.

Sound

We have planned to record the sounds for our film opening separately to the actual filming. The sounds we need of the waves and the beach atmosphere will not be as clear and as loud as we need through the microphone on the camera. Therefore, we will record these sounds separately, closer to the sea to capture the clear sound of the waves and then add this in when we edit. 

The choir music we need will also be recorded separately to our filming schedule. We will record this at a church to capture the echoing sound of the music which will also be added to our film opening through editing.

Film Opening Plan

Me and Emma have chosen to combine two of the film themes and make a film involving both aspects…these aspects are:

·         Independent movie - featuring a young protagonist

·         Art house – appealing to adult audiences

We have decided to combine the above film features as we recognised a link between them which we thought would work well. Our film will be about a kidnapping/disappearance of a little girl from a wealthy family. With the beach being the setting, on an evening walk with the family, the little girl will disappear without a trace. Our aim is to create a mysterious/confused effect and we will do this with the use of music (both diegetic and non-diegetic), camera angles and effects.

The little girl will be wearing a red coat with the rest of the family dressed in pastel colours. This will help to show the presence of danger in the art house effect without being too obvious. Our idea is to include the constant, subtle diegetic sound of the sea as a background noise with the mumbled dialogue of the family and distinctive laughter of the girl whilst playing. We may include echo effects to her laughter to emphasise the art house effect.

We will use establishing shots of the family walking down the beach to capture the mood and tranquillity with over the shoulder shots of the parents looking out onto the children playing ahead of them. We will then contrast these shots with extreme close ups of the parents faces when the girl goes missing to emphasise the disturbance and horror of the situation.

Animatic of Film Opening