Ancilliary Task Two Final Piece

Ancilliary Task Two Production - Film Poster

I began with the initial background image of the central protagonist, and added cloudy shadow at the bottom.

I then muted the tones and made it a greyish colour, to add a ghostly them. I also used the blending tool to form a figure on the right hand side.

Next i added the star ratings and the central title of 'Dead'.

The next step involved naming newspapers that have rated my film, and the tagline. I also made it clear it was a short film, highlighting a specialised target audience.

I then incorporated the names of the producers and directors, as well as cast members.

Ancilliary Task Two Layout Development

Presentation1

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Ancilliary Task One Final Piece

Ancilliary Task One Production- Magazine Article

Initially, I placed the background image of the trees against the darkening sky as the main focus. By accident, I then clicked the magic eraser tool, shown below, which created the gappy contrasting white section effect. I realised it would be an ideal platform in which to place my article text without taking the effectiveness away from the image.

Next I brightened the blue of the image to a sinister unnatural level, highlighting the rigid black structures of the ominous trees, and giving an unusual yet interesting effect to the white sections.

Because the filter placed over the entire image was blue, the incorporation of the still shot images gave the a blue hue also. However, I felt it was effective and cohesive with the cold tone, so left it.

I then placed the title and the subheading into the article.

I continued to add sections of text in place of the white section.

Finally, I placed, "In cinemas soon!" at the bottom left to attract potential audience members. I am thoroughly happy with the unusual result of my article.

Filming Schedule

Soundtrack Development

Dead Soundtrack 2 by ag4939

We felt that the soundtrack to the film would have to be extremely sinister and unusual, in order to go along with the horror genre of the film, with its mysterious elements. 

Recce Check

In order to make sure our filming locations were safe and suitable for the production of our film, we decided to check health and safety of the surrounding area, analyse any potential hazards and risks, and assess the best possible way to handle them should they arise.

Props and Cast List

< The character of Floriana was our central protagonist. Our entire cast were of the same age, 17-18, in order to create a coherence between target audience and character, to whom they could relate. She is the central protagonist due to the final scenes, in which she discovers the scene of the bodies, with her at the steering wheel. We also felt she was an effective actor and well portrayed her emotions.





< Leah was the main incorporator of humour in the narrative. High tempered and frustrated, her dry sense of humour within the script allowed a sense of comedy within the narrative. It adds a light hearted sense to the otherwise dark and sinister narrative.

< Hallam did not have a lot of dialogue within the film, so therefore stood as helper. He acted well, and signified the close relationship he and Joe shared as friends. Part of the "silly duo", his role was minimal but integral to plot.

Joe also added elements of humour within  the plot. His mistake during the groups ^ search for signal incorporated elements of technology, and also could link well with our TA by naming a popular game he was playing on.

< James generally served as the mediator, trying to calm down the situation. His disappearance adds a suspicious element to the narrative, and will make the audience individual question the reason behind it. Also incorporates comic elements through dialogue; during a stressful time, all he can think about is "food".

Presentation

Short Film

A part of the production of our film, we decided to produce a brief power point presentation outlining many key aspects concerning the production and content of our feature film. It was the presented to the class, in order to gain a clear perspective of the opinions of individuals of the target audience we intended our film to be aimed at.We recieved an interesting reaction, with many members of the class enthusiastic about our project as a whole. There were questions over use of technology, but we feel they were justified through our explanations of the incorporations of ipods, phones, and cars. They commented on the fact they would definitely visit a cinema or local festival in order to watch the film, and feel the overall twist of the plot gives it an alternative positioning in the general horror film cache already existing.

Flick Film

As practice into varied forms of presentation for our films production, we decided to compile a brief animation, using sticky notes, after watching the below video gaining inspiration:







Using only post it notes, he cleverly produced a short but extremely effective and awe-inspiring animation film. We liked the idea of using sticky notes, and used a brief storyboard- like theme to create a very small animation. It is sometimes blurry, and not as effective as we hoped, but it enabled us to develop upon the idea of animation, and gave us ideas of possible incorporation into our film. 







Overall, I would have definitely made it longer, much smoother, and added a soundtrack. We produced it in lesson, and I am glad we had a chance to explore the possibility of animation.

The Effects Of Lighting



After extensive research on the effect of lighting and filters on certain sets and films, I found that it was highly influential and gave many clues as to the genre of the film, what was happening, how safe a setting was, and even characters definition.

I researched into the different types of lighting and filter colours that are generally used during filming, and found very different and specific styles that each hold connotations of evil, or love, or warmth, and the audience automatically interpret them in certain ways. I looked at the main structure of lighting used on many film sets, called Three Point Lighting. These three main heavy lights include a back light, a key light and a fill light.

The back light usually stands behind the object of focus, or person, and is mainly used to provide seperation from the background, say a wall. The key light, positioned to the left of the diagram, or the right hand side of the object/person, provides a natural base light, used to make the image clear and focused on camera. It is the primary and most important light source. The fill light acts as a 'leveller', providing some 'fill' as hinted in the name, and a shadow for your object of focus. This balances the contrast created by the strong back light and key lights, and gives the finishing product a natural and balanced, clear look.



Each of these pieces of lighting has a seperate purpose, and works together to significantly give depth and high quality on camera. But one light may be altered slightly, be it using a filter, brightner, or other effect, to change hopw the overall image is shot, and create a specific intended effect. I looked into these different alterations further add substance and depth to a particular shot, and give meaning.

Back Lit Subjects

Bear Backlit. Serene Image

This involves the other two lights barely bright, whilst the back light is directly behind the subject of focus. By brightening it substantially, it can create a variety of effects.

Black and White Backlit. Rural,

again serene image.

 I tried, with a group of others, to replicate this use of lighting. I think the effect worked quite well, as it gives a soft, somewhat heavenly touch to the subject, as it is so bright, almost creating an aura around the subject of focus.



Romantic image.



It also creates quite a romantic image, shown in the holding hand photo, as the lighting surrounds the hands, and could be quite significant and symbolic if filming about love or romance.

High Key Lighting.



Old fashioned films
 mainly
 used this style of lighting 



This form of lighting is generally used in filming, when it is outdoors or brightly lit on a clear day. Light sources come from all directions to create this effect, and it often gives a happy, bright effect. It would generally be used in films of a comical, or romantic nature, and rarely in horror films, when light tends to be much darker, and sinister. It gives clarity, and presents to the audience a very clear image of the subject in focus.



Prime example of high key lighting
within a studio.



Low Key Lighting

This form of lighting is generally used in films of the horror, or mystery genre, or in hybrid films that incorporate aspects of sci fi and action. Less of the area of filming is lit up, and this in turn purposefully creates shadows and partially lit subjects. This can create a sinister, eerie effect of the subject of focus, and perhaps represent a character in a particular way. I explored this technique with my group, and researched into its general use.



Partially lit, Low key subject



The creation of shadows,
experimental

Examples of this form of lighting proved difficult to accomplish within our classroom setting. Eventually however, we discovered its use can create a severe effect, and put specific ideas about the subject of focu into the audience members' mind. If a character is only partially lit in the shadows, or from underneath, like the two images shown above, then they are portrayed as potentially dangerous, and most definitely evil or suspicious characters, due to their particular expressions, and lack of revelation of facial details. When producing our own short



Low Key Lighting Example

Colour Filters



We experimented with using various colour filters over our primary sources of light in order to understand the various effects they produce. Our favourite effect was through using the red filter. PLacing over the front of the light, it produces images that gave impressions of romanticism and love. The closer the filter to the head of the lamp, the stronger the colour was produced. We feel that it will be effective using it within our film, as the blue filter gave a grim and dank impression, effective for making the woodland scene seem grim and disturbing, the perfect setting for our horror genre.




Not only can the red filter create a romantic effect, but also one of fear. It could be a prominent signifier for blood and horror, something we also may consider incorporating into our films structure of camera shots and lighting effects.



Creation of shadows,
 using a colour filter.